


Night's Moving Castle

by treya_barton



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Howl's Moving Castle Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-07-05 12:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 42,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15863211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treya_barton/pseuds/treya_barton
Summary: Prompto is the only son who inherited his family hat shop but dreams of adventures.  He comes across a mysterious wizard one day and winds up on a journey he would have never expected.





	1. Unexpected Encounters

The clock tower in the main square of Hammerhead struck four, causing Prompto to set down his pencil and stretch his aching hands.  He had been working on a design for a new hat while filtering out the chatter of the girls working at the hat shop, talking about gossip around town and news coming from the capital Insomnia.  Scattered around him were other hat designs, some half crumpled and others set aside as possibilities to start on that week.  Hidden in sketchbooks underneath the sheets were more personal projects, landscapes and portraits he sketched in his free time but kept hidden away.  He had to focus on work after all. 

Prompto stood up, making his way over to the register to count up their earnings for the day while one of the girls turned the sign on the door to close.  He was closing the shop early today in order to visit with his sister Cindy who worked at the local mechanic shop, tinkering on the new automobiles that were all the rage lately.  Most people still travelled by horseback since it was faster and more convenient, but he was slowly starting to see more automobiles on the road as well.  His sister was an early adopter to the new technology, and although she had been sent by their father to go to apprentice under a witch, she had secretly swapped with their older sister Aranea to do what she was more passionate about.  Typically the middle child learned magic while the eldest learned a trade, but his sisters weren’t ones to conform to societies expectations.  Prompto couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.

He counted out the daily earnings for each of the shop girls and doled them out, smiling slightly as they accepted their earnings and headed out, excited to be leaving early and gushing about what they would spend it on.  It must be nice to have that kind of energy.  When Prompto was younger, he had been known for that same kind of boundless enthusiasm that had made his adopted father and sisters smile, even if it sometimes drove Aranea crazy when it got him in trouble occasionally.  Then, when Prompto inherited the family business and began working, that energy slowly dissipated as he realized this was all he was going to look forward to in his life.  Cor, their adopted father, had no patience for running his family shop, and once he had taught Prompto the ins and outs of the business, he had run off to do his true passion which was mercenary work.  Prompto actually had a talent for the work – he was artistic so his designs were often well received and there was a rumor around town that the hats at the Leonis Hat Shop were said to bring good fortune. 

Yet, he found being stuck inside all day designing and stitching the hats tedious and longed to travel to new places and draw everything he encountered.  That was his true dream, and while his sisters encouraged him to talk to their father about it, stating that he wouldn’t want him to be unhappy and only had Prompto at the shop because it provided him stability, Prompto wouldn’t listen.  Cor had given him such a good childhood when he adopted him, and Prompto didn’t want to be a disappointment.  And if he didn’t run the family shop, who would?  So, Prompto stubbornly remained at the shop, watching his dreams slowly fade away stitch by stitch as he remained holed up in the workshop next to his room.  At least he had a decent view of the town.

Prompto shook his head from his negative thoughts, sighing and grabbing his gray coat and plain straw hat in order to head out to Cid’s garage where Cindy worked.  His sisters always chided him for his plain choice in clothes, especially since he had a line of male hats that were pretty dapper and fashionable, but Prompto insisted that the plain suited him more.  Who was he trying to impress after all?  He preferred all the focus be on his creations as opposed to himself.  Prompto whistled to himself as he walked along the busy street, carefully staying off to the side and avoiding the center of the road that was buzzing with activity, people on horses, people pulling carts, carriages, and the occasional automobile driving by.  There were also a lot of Lucian soldiers in town for a recruiting event, which made it even busier than usual.  That had probably been what the girls had been giggling about in the shop all day.  Prompto ended up ducking down a side street in order to get a breather, for it was a shortcut that lead to the garage away from the main road and was much quieter.

When Prompto turned onto the street, he spotted two soldiers up ahead that appeared to have had one too many drinks, and he carefully averted his eyes and hunched his shoulders in as he made his way past them, trying his best not to draw attention to himself.  He had almost managed to slip by when one of them looked up, and elbowed his buddy in the shoulder.  “Well, what do we have here?” he asked boisterously, and Prompto stiffened before trying to hurry on his way.

The other soldier grabbed his arm and swung him around, causing Prompto to bite his lip.  “Oh, he’s a cute one, isn’t he?  Look at those freckles.”

“And a blond – you sure you’re from Lucis?” the first said, slurring his words slightly.  Most Lucians had dark hair due to the warmer climate; blond was much more common in the colder climates of Niflheim and Tenebrae.  Prompto was pretty sure his father had adopted him from Niflheim, but since tensions with the other nation were so high, he certainly wasn’t about to relay that information.

“Unhand me,” Prompto said quietly, trying to pull away and feeling frustrated when the soldier wouldn’t let go.  He could feel panic setting in.

“Now that’s not friendly is it?” he frowned.  “We’re over here defending our country for you, you know?  Come join us for a drink why don’t you?”

“I believe he asked you to let go,” a warm voice came from behind them, causing a slight shiver up Prompto’s spine.  He and the soldiers turned to see a strange man all in black with midnight blue eyes regaling them confidently along with the craziest hair Prompto had ever seen.  It was streaked with different shades of blue, purple, and pink and flared out on the sides with carefully arranged bangs falling into his eyes.  Prompto felt a slight blush form on his face at how attractive he looked despite the odd hair, and the two soldiers gaped at him like they had trouble believing their eyes.  Prompto couldn’t blame them – he had certainly never seen hair like that either.  The mysterious man smirked at their reaction, before lazily waving his hand.  Prompto felt the grip on his shoulder loosen as the soldier’s hand suddenly fell away, and he watched both of them walk away from them and back toward the busy street as if they were in a daze.

‘Magic,’ Prompto couldn’t help but think in amazement.  That would explain the man’s strange appearance if he was a wizard.  “Thank you,” Prompto said, looking relieved.  He was suddenly surprised as he felt warmth drape across his shoulders along with a sharp scent of an expensive cologne.  He blinked up at the stranger who had pulled close to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.  Prompto felt his heartrate increase, both at the closeness and at the sudden realization he was now alone with the powerful man.  Prompto tensed, and the stranger chuckled into his ear.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.  “However, there are daemons slithering about in the shadows and I recommend you stick close to me so I can get us away.”

Prompto shivered, realizing that he in fact could see dark figures skittering about in the shadows and wondering what could have possibly brought them into town.  Daemons normally kept themselves in the Wastes these days where the heavy fog protected them from the sun.  The wizard tightened his arm around Prompto’s shoulders, causing Prompto to feel surprisingly safe even though he didn’t know the man, before encouraging him to begin walking.  As they began to walk, Prompto felt anxiety in the pit of his stomach as he realized the daemons appeared to be following them, and almost hesitated until the stranger tugged him forward.  Their walking slowly began to turn to a jog which then broke into a run as Prompto heard the daemons draw closer to them.  Then, suddenly, Prompto realized they were no longer running on the cobblestone road anymore, and he looked down in horror to realize they were walking on midair.

“Don’t look down,” the rainbow haired man encouraged, and Prompto immediately stared forward again.  They ended up soon rising above the street and back into the protective sunlight, Prompto looking down curiously to see the daemons retreating back into the shadows and silently watching as they escaped to freedom.  He then looked around, starting to feel a little more secure as he realized the wizard seemed to be in control and wouldn’t cause them to plummet to the earth.  It was breathtaking seeing his town from a bird’s eye view, and Prompto was already planning on a sketch to capture the moment later.  “Where to?” the stranger asked, and Prompto found he liked the feeling of his warm tone so close to his ear.

“Cid’s garage.  It’s right over there,” Prompto said, pointing out the shiny metallic building where his sister worked.  The stranger began directing them over there and as they got closer, their steps began to draw downward as if they were walking down stairs, until they were finally on solid ground again.  Cindy, who was outside working on an automobile, stared at them in shock while Prompto turned to face his savior.  “Thank you again,” Prompto said, not realizing that he was still blushing.

“What’s your name?” the wizard asked with a lazy grin.

“Prompto.  Prompto Argentum,” Prompto replied thoughtlessly, too caught up in the stranger’s beautiful midnight eyes.

The stranger took Prompto’s hand and brought it up to his lips, leaving a warm kiss before saying, “It was a pleasure Prompto Argentum.  I hope we meet again.”

He then took off down the street, soon melting into the crowd and disappearing from sight.  Prompto stared after him for several minutes, feeling dazed as if he had been under a spell himself, until his thoughts were interrupted by his sister who wanted to know, “What in tarnation just happened?”


	2. An Unwanted Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto catches up with Cindy before returning home where he runs into a strange man.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Prompto replied, a dreamlike quality to his voice as he stared back at where the strange man had disappeared.  Cindy frowned and poked him hard in the arm to catch his attention, causing Prompto to wince before turning to face her.  Cindy had her arms crossed and was looking at him appraisingly with thoughtful green eyes.  She was popular with the boys in town, although she didn’t pay any of them any attention, and had the nickname the mechanic goddess with her shapely body and short, wavy blond hair.  She actually looked like she could be Prompto’s biological sister with her similar coloring, but she was definitely born in Lucis unlike both Aranea and Prompto who Cor had brought back with him from Niflheim after spotting them both wandering the streets. 

“Are you gonna explain now?” Cindy asked patiently, eyes noting his flushed cheeks and rare pleased expression.  Their elder sister definitely didn’t have Cindy’s easygoing personality and would have probably started interrogating him by this point.  Cindy, meanwhile, was waiting for him to choose his words, finding it gave her more insight into his thoughts than when he was stumbling to reply.

“I was taking the shortcut here and ran into some drunken soldiers who began bothering me,” Prompto slowly began, frowning slightly as he spoke.  He didn’t want Cindy to see how scared he had been, but she picked up the tension in his shoulders and tutted to herself.  Prompto was a tough young man, but was often a bit shy which some people tried to take advantage of.  “That guy stepped in to save me,” he admitted.  “He used some magic to send the soldiers away.”  Prompto trailed off, obviously lost in thought over how gorgeous the stranger was, if his slightly blushed cheeks and glossy eyes were anything to go by.  Cindy couldn’t help but shake her head and smile to herself – it had certainly been awhile since her brother had formed a crush on someone.

“And?  How did y’all end up walkin’ on air?” she pressed after a moment, and Prompto shook his head.

“There were daemons.  In the alley.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in the city before,” Prompto said, and Cindy’s eyes narrowed.  “So, we started running, and suddenly we were running on air, and he asked where I was going and I pointed out Cid’s shop.  And then he dropped me off,” Prompto said.  “I just realized I didn’t get his name!  How am I supposed to thank him for saving me?”

“You certainly gave yours,” Cindy muttered under her breath before shaking her head.  “Maybe it’s for the best, sugar.  You know wizards can’t be trusted – it’s rumored that the Wizard Night is in town again and you know he eats maiden’s hearts!”

Prompto frowned.  “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m not a girl,” he said, crossing his arms and pouting, and Cindy smiled.

“You aren’t but you’re certainly cute enough,” she winked.  “Still, it can’t hurt to be careful.”

Prompto nodded slightly, the dreamy expression fading from his eyes as reality set in.  “You’re right,” he agreed, and she could tell he had resigned himself to forgetting the flashy man.  It hurt her heart a little, for she so rarely got to see her brother excited these days, but thought it may be for the best.  They didn’t know anything about the strange man after all.

“Did you get our sister’s letter?” Cindy asked, changing the subject as she leaned against the car she had been working on. 

“Yeah…” Prompto frowned again, and Cindy smiled to herself.  “All she did was lecture me about talking to dad again.  I’ve already told her my decision – you’d think she’d take the hint…”

“Aranea’s only looking out for you.  She wants you to be happy,” Cindy reminded him, and Prompto sighed. 

“I know.  I just…” he trailed off before shaking his head.  “I think she has a crush on someone though.  She mentioned this name a few times – Ignis I think?”

“She’d never own to it though,” Cindy grinned.  “I noticed that too.  He must be mighty impressive to catch her attention.”

They both ended up chatting for a bit longer, until the clock tower struck five and Prompto decided it was time to return home for dinner.  Cindy had moved out to an apartment close to the garage, and although she would often share meals with him she had other plans that day which is why Prompto had decided to visit.  It was lonely eating alone all the time, but Prompto didn’t mention it and instead waved at his sister, adopting a cheerful expression until he walked away, and not noticing the concerned look she shot him as he walked off.  She knew when her brother was faking it, and she had noticed he had been doing it for quite awhile.  She frowned, deciding to pen a letter to both their sister and father, hoping that if maybe one of them came home they could help her get Prompto out of this funk he had been in lately.

Prompto, meanwhile, grabbed some bread from the closest bakery to the hat shop before making his way home, stepping inside and locking the door behind him.  He hung his coat and hat up, looking around the silent shop and sighing.  It felt even more stifling without the shop girl’s cheerful chatter and the din of patrons exclaiming over the hats they saw.  When Prompto was a child and everyone still lived at home, there had been noise in the evenings as Cor counted up their earnings for the day, Cindy or Aranea made them dinner, and everyone chatted as they worked on homework or did some family activities together.  Prompto definitely missed those days.  He had been about to head upstairs to the kitchen to start on dinner, when he was surprised as the shop door opened, chiming the bell to let him know a customer had stepped in.

Prompto turned, confused since he knew he had locked the door and had set the sign to closed besides.  Standing in the doorway was a tall, burgundy haired main, wearing far too many layers for the heat of Hammerhead along with a well-worn black fedora.  He definitely didn’t seem the type to be interested in fancy hats, and his nose wrinkled as his sharp, amber eyes gazed around the hat shop.  “Excuse me sir, but the shop is closed for the day,” Prompto said, setting his bag of bread on the counter.

The man turned his gaze to Prompto and stepped inside, causing Prompto to bristle slightly, feeling anxiety pool in his stomach.  Something about the man intimidated him, almost as if he could feel some dark and oily thing beneath his surface.  Prompto had always been able to pick out certain things about people, and something about this man screamed danger to him.  “I am not interested in your hats,” the man finally spoke, his voice calculatingly smooth.  “Especially not with such lowly magic,” Prompto thought he heard him mutter under his breath.  He believed he was mistaken though since there was no way any of his hats had any magic.  “I did wish for you to point me in the direction of where Night has run off to though.”  The man waved his hand as he spoke, reminding Prompto of earlier when the stranger had used his magic, for it was the same sort of lazy motion.

“Night?” Prompto asked in confusion, and the burgundy haired man frowned.

“Do not play dumb with me.  I have no patience for it.  The Wizard Night,” he said sharply.

“I’ve never met the man,” Prompto frowned.  “And as I have said, the shop is closed.  So, I must ask you to leave.”

The man smiled dangerously at his reply.  “Oh, you’re protecting him are you?  You will pay dearly for that I’m afraid,” he said, snapping his fingers.  Prompto immediately felt something heavy rush through him, almost as if all of his energy had been sapped and left him feeling tired and lethargic.  “You will regret your loyalty,” the stranger continued, before tilting his hat as a farewell and sweeping out of the store, the door clicking and locking behind him.  Prompto noted that his sign was in fact set to closed and wondered how the man had gotten in here.

‘Maybe he’s a wizard too,’ Prompto thought, wondering why the strange man thought he knew anything about the Wizard Night.  He was pretty sure he’d know if he had run into the wizard known for eating maiden’s hearts.

Prompto shook his head and reached over for his bread, frowning when he realized two things.  One, he felt incredibly sore and the movement made him realize his strength had indeed left his body.  Two, his hand looked unnatural and was covered in spots that looked different from his usual freckles and had wrinkles that had never been there before.  Prompto immediately paused, before reaching a hand up to touch his face and stilling when he realized something.  He could feel small lines on his face that had also not been there before.  He as quickly as he could manage made his way upstairs to his room, stopping in front of the floor length mirror and freezing when he saw himself.  His youthful skin, usually smooth and scattered with freckles was now wrinkled and had age spots here and there amongst his freckles.  His face stared back at him, obviously wrinkled on the forehead and around his eyes, and his hair had turned from blond to white, his youthful haircut now appearing odd with his new age.  Prompto sucked in a breath before sitting on his bed, staring at himself in horror.  That strange man was in fact a wizard, and he had cursed him with some sort of an aging spell.

Prompto brought a hand up to his mouth, wondering how he could possibly get out of this situation.  There was no way he could run the shop like this.  Would people even recognize him or believe it was him?  And how was he to break the curse when he had no idea who the wizard was that had cursed him and why?  Maybe it was time to pay his older sister a visit. She was learning magic after all – maybe there was something she could do.  Prompto immediately set to work, writing out letters for both sisters and his father explaining his absence in order to go visit Aranea, along with a sign to hang up on the door to the shop letting people know he would be closed.  He wished he could speak to the shop girls directly, but knew they all worked at the shop for spending money and would probably enjoy what he hoped would be a short vacation from work.  He would send out his letters in the morning before starting his journey to the Wastes – they would be the fastest way to reach Aranea, even if they were a bit dangerous.  Prompto didn’t have time to lose.


	3. The Wastes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto travels through the Wastes so he can try to meet up with his sister Aranea to break the curse.

The next morning, Prompto packed some food for his trip, moving much slower than usual since his body was stiff and creaky, even more than last night.  He put up his sign showing the shop would be closed for awhile and locked the door after him, before making his way to the post office to drop off his letters.  He could already imagine how worried Cindy would be with him leaving on such a trip without telling her first, but he didn’t want her to see him and felt this was for the best.  He began to make his way through the town and toward the small road that led toward the Wastes; while they were dangerous since the pervading fog allowed it to be dark enough for daemons to spawn even during the day, it was the fastest way to the capital where Aranea lived.  The road itself was protected by magic to ward off the daemons, so as long as Prompto stuck to the path he should be safe. 

He had honestly not left Hammerhead much since coming to it from Niflheim as a boy, so some small part of him couldn’t help but feel excited about the journey.  Although he would have preferred much different circumstances, the one good thing about the curse was it was allowing him to finally travel and have a valid excuse to get away from the hat shop.  If…only his body would be able to handle it.  Not even half a mile outside of town, Prompto was already struggling as he made his way past cottages and small farms located between Hammerhead and the Wastes – no one lived in the Wastes, of course, other than wizards and witches due to the dangers.  The path through the Wastes could definitely be walked within a day, but in Prompto’s current state he was starting to worry.  Even with the magic on the road, he didn’t really want to be out in the Wastes after dark.

Still, he had no choice and since most people chose to take the longer road around the Wastes rather than pass through it, he had to make the journey without any assistance.  He felt relieved when an hour later he finally began to see traces of the Wastes up ahead – the wispy, dense fog hovering around the wild grass and thorny underbrush that grew untamed since most avoided the area.  Prompto decided now was as good a time as ever to take a quick break, and he carefully sat down to ease his creaking joints for a moment, before slowly unwrapping a sandwich he had made for his lunch.  It was still a bit early, but he had skipped out on breakfast and was hungry.  He also suspected he’d need the energy for the journey ahead of him.  ‘I wish I had some sort of a walking stick,’ he thought to himself, for the road ahead looked less even and like it hadn’t been taken care of.  He was already a bit unsteady on his feet, his balance not the same as he got used to moving around on muscles and joints that didn’t work the way they used to, and he felt uncertain about how well he would manage on unsteady terrain. 

That’s when he spotted it – a stick that appeared to be sticking out from the underbrush.  It was just close enough to the road that he felt brave enough to venture over to grab it; it was also not quite fully enveloped in fog and was still getting enough sunlight that he didn’t think he would be bothered by any daemons.  ‘I can do this,’ Prompto thought, finishing his sandwich and downing some water from his canteen before grimacing as he forced himself to his feet again.

He carefully stretched out his body, wincing as pain shot up his back and became a dull pulse on his lower back muscle, before letting out a sigh and carefully making his way to the stick in the underbrush.  He gathered up his strength before tugging on it, frowning when it gave him some trouble, and gritting his teeth as he pulled harder.  He felt his back twinge even more with pain, but now he was determined to follow through.  Besides, he really needed a walking stick to help manage the path – now that he was closer he could see it looked even more overgrown further in.  ‘I hope that the magic is still intact,’ he thought idly as he let go of the stick.  He took a deep breath, gathering all of the strength that he had while missing his once strong and muscular arms, before yanking at the stick and pulling it out of the underbrush to reveal that it wasn’t actually a stick but the bottom to an odd looking scarecrow.

The scarecrow leapt out of his hands to his surprise, causing him to stumble back, barely catching himself before he fell to the ground.  He had a feeling in his current condition if he were to fully take a fall, he may not get back up.  The scarecrow stood freely up in front of him, a pair of sticks tied together into a cross shape wearing a long white dress that had torn at the bottom from getting caught in the underbrush.  It had a pale turnip for a head with a simple face drawn onto it and the whole scarecrow was covered in sylleblossoms that had been tied together in flower chains.  Prompto inched closer to the road, realizing that whatever the scarecrow was, it probably had some sort of a spell or curse on it.  The scarecrow hopped closer to him, and then almost appeared to bow as it leaned forward.  “I’m being bowed to by a scarecrow,” Prompto said to himself incredulously, taking a few more steps back until his feet finally reached the road again.  He breathed a sigh of relief as the scarecrow kept just off the road, obviously unable to cross the magic barrier due to whatever allowed it to move.

Prompto began to make his way down the road, having to tread carefully due to the fact he was more unsteady on the unkempt path as he had feared, and noting that he could hear bristling in the underbrush next to him as the scarecrow steadily followed along with him.  Prompto frowned before turning to look at it.  It stopped and almost seemed to tilt at him curiously.  “Listen, I don’t need you following me,” he addressed it.  “I’m sure you’re happy I pulled you out from where you were stuck, but you don’t need to thank me or anything.”

It stood motionlessly as he talked, but when he turned to continue on his walk, he heard it began to move alongside him again.  Prompto let out a deep sigh, deciding to go back to ignoring it and continuing on his journey.  Within about ten minutes, he found himself tripping on the uneven ground, and nearly toppled over again.  He just barely managed to catch his slip, wincing when he felt himself pull a different muscle in his back in the process.  He definitely had to sit down for a moment after that, the new pain searing through his back and overwhelming the other, duller throb from the first one.  He took another drink of water before pulling out some bread and cheese for a snack.  ‘That guy wasn’t kidding when he said I’d pay dearly,’ he thought, noting that the scarecrow finally seemed to have disappeared during his fall.  It was probably for the better.

He took about a fifteen minute break, allowing time for the new pain to reduce to a duller throb before trying to stand up again.  While he was still hurting, he knew he couldn’t take too much time out there and had to continue to move.  To his surprise, he heard the sound of something coming through the underbrush again, and looked up to see that the scarecrow had returned and had a walking stick hanging off of one of its arms.  Prompto stared in surprise, and he couldn’t help but feel a thrum of warmth in his chest at the kind gesture.  “You brought that for me?” he asked, carefully moving forward to pull it from the scarecrow.  He tested it on the ground and grinned, for it really did make walking easier and gave him some much needed balance.  “Thanks, scarecrow.  Maybe you’re not so bad after all,” Prompto said, feeling a bit more cheerful and getting a sudden burst of energy.  “You don’t think you could find a place for me to stay for the night out here, could you?” he chuckled to himself.  He could already tell there was no way he was making it out before nightfall – he still had quite a distance to walk. 

To his surprise, the scarecrow began hopping off, causing him to feel almost lonely this time without its presence.  He knew there was no way his second request could be fulfilled – no one lived out here other than wizards and witches after all – and he let out a small shrug before continuing to make his way down the path.  A few hours later, once it was beginning to become truly dark in the already dim fog as the sun set overhead, he was surprised to hear rustling in the underbrush along with a distant, mechanical sound.

The scarecrow soon popped up next to the road again, hopping up and down and almost appearing to point toward the direction of the noise.  Prompto turned his head to look and his eyes widened at the gigantic metallic contraption he saw in the distance that appeared to be slowly moving toward him.  It was definitely the cause of the sound he had been hearing – metal scraping on metal while groaning from the weight of the scrap metal that looked like it had been haphazardly thrown together.  There was also the sound of steam escaping here and there which reminded Prompto of the sound of a steam engine on a train.  “This…isn’t what I meant,” he said, for this definitely had to be the work of a wizard – there was no other way such a thing could move like that.  Besides, he vaguely remembered that the Wizard Night was supposed to live in the wastes in some sort of moving castle, and while he certainly wouldn’t describe this walking horror as a castle, it was certainly moving.

The scarecrow hopped up and down a few times before hopping toward the castle, stopping occasionally and turning around as if to beckon him on.  It was starting to get truly dark outside as it turned to dusk, and Prompto began to hear the telltale sound of daemons popping outside.  He hadn’t heard it in Hammerhead since all cities had spells to keep them out at night, but he distinctly remembered hearing them as a child on his way to Hammerhead from Gralea and the fear that had wracked him every time until Cor had picked him up protectively or Aranea had hugged him soothingly.  He couldn’t help but feel nervous now, and looked at the moving contraption in a different light.  If it was a magic moving castle, then it would also have protective wards on it, and he could tell by the lights shining from windows dotting it that there was light and probably a warm fire inside.  It was already cooler and damp in the Wastes, but now that the sun was going down it was getting downright chilly and Prompto definitely had not worn the proper clothes to combat it.  It looks like he’d have to accept the scarecrow’s help after all.

He made his way behind the scarecrow which lead him away from the road and quickly toward the moving castle, which had slowed to a stop and creaked down to rest so Prompto could reach a door which had been designed at the bottom as an entrance.  He was relieved when the knob turned easily, especially since he heard the groaning sound of a daemon forming close by, and he quickly stepped into the brightly lit doorway, before turning back to see the scarecrow hopping a few feet away from him.  “Are you not able to come inside?” he asked, feeling a bit worried about it off on its own, and the scarecrow waved side to side as if to say no.  He figured the wards in the castle probably were the cause, and he hoped the scarecrow would be alright.

“Thank you for your help – I really appreciate it,” he said, smiling and waving while hiding his concern.  The scarecrow appeared to bow again before hopping off, and Prompto watched the ghostly form due to the white dress soon disappear into the underbrush and fog again.  Once the scarecrow was gone, Prompto closed the door behind him and cautiously made his way upstairs, before staring in horror at the mess he encountered inside.  The interior of the building which looked like a normal dining room and family area was covered in filth, with cobwebs along the ceiling and walls, dirty dishes covering the sink and table, and books and other odds and ends scattered everywhere.  There was a fire in a hearth that also appeared to double as a stove and there was cinder ash scattered all over it.  If this really was Night’s moving castle, the wizard was apparently a terrible slob.

Prompto, shivering from the cold outside, grabbed one of the dining room chairs and pulled it up next to the fire, quickly warming himself by the flames.  He stared at it absently as the chill slowly seeped from his tired limbs, his mind drifting due to his exhaustion while he absentmindedly thought to himself that the fire appeared to have a little daemonic face in the middle.  He had smiled to himself at the amusing thought until it suddenly spoke.  “Who invited you in here?” the fire asked grumpily, and Prompto nearly tipped his chair over in surprise.

“Wh-what?” he asked.

“Hmmm…that’s some curse that’s been placed on you,” the fire mused.  “It’s going to be mighty difficult the break.  Nothing a fire daemon like me can’t manage of course,” it continued proudly.

“You can break the curse?” Prompto asked curiously.

“Well, for a price of course.  I am a fire daemon after all,” the fire replied.  “The name’s Gladiolus by the way.  But you can call me Gladio.”

“Ah, my name is Prompto,” the cursed man replied, and the fire appeared to react in recognition to the name, although Prompto didn’t notice since he hadn’t known the daemon long enough to understand his facial expressions quite yet.  Prompto studied the fire daemon thoughtfully.  “What’s your price?” he asked, trying not to get too hopeful.  Daemons like this were very different from the beasts outside and had powerful magic and were known to be tricksters.  Many a witch and wizard had made contracts with daemons for power and had lost their humanity as a result.

“I want you to break the contract between me and Night,” the daemon replied, confirming Prompto’s suspicion.  So, this was Night’s home afterall.

“Can’t you do that?” Prompto asked curiously.

“I can’t,” Gladio grunted.  “Or I would.  I can’t even speak the terms of the contract because of the binding spell.”

“So, what you’re saying is…you can’t tell me anything, but I somehow have to figure out how to break it,” Prompto frowned, and Gladio’s flames turned to embers like he was glowering.

“Do you want your curse broken or not?” he demanded.

“Well, I was going to see my sister to see if she could help,” Prompto replied honestly.  “She’s studying magic.  I’m not sure if I want to get involved with a daemon and the infamous Wizard Night…”

“I doubt your sister can break it.  Like I said, that’s one powerful curse.  Only a daemon will have enough magic,” Gladio pointed out.  “Who were you messing with anyway?”

“I don’t know who he was.  Some red haired creep who came into my shop asking about Night.  He cursed me when I said I didn’t know who he was,” Prompto sighed.  He leaned back in his chair, thinking.  He actually believed the daemon’s words, and had honestly been afraid that once he got to Aranea it would be out of her scope to fix.  She was new to learning magic after all, and he could somehow tell that the man who cast the curse on him had been powerfully dangerous.  Besides, it wasn’t like he was a pretty maiden who had to worry about the wizard eating his heart.  At least here he had more of a chance to find a resolution to his problem.  Prompto nodded to himself before turning to look back at the fire, which seemed to be watching him steadily.

“Alright, I agree to your terms.  I break your contract and you break my curse,” Prompto replied.

“Now we’re in business,” Gladio said proudly, his flames flickering in excitement.  “That heartless wizard bound me to this abysmal place after making our contract and just nags me all day.  I, a great fire daemon, limited to heating water for the bath and keeping this pile of junk running,” he complained. 

“Is he home?” Prompto asked curiously, peering around the room and noticing a set of stairs that lead upward.  That must be where Night’s bedroom and the bathroom was located.

“No, he went out.  His little protegee is upstairs but won’t be down until the morning more than likely,” Gladio replied.  “You can probably sleep on the couch over there tonight if you can manage to clear a space.”

Prompto looked over at the couch in question, noting the pile of books scattered all across it.  Luckily there did appear to be a pillow hidden under the pile and draped on the back of the couch was a blanket.  Prompto sat up carefully, grimacing at the pain in his back and joints as he slowly made his way over to the couch.  He carefully began pulling off the books before setting them in a neat pile on the floor next to it.  He then beat the pillow, both to fluff it up and to ensure there was no dust, before similarly shaking out the blanket.  With how messy the room was, he couldn’t make too many precautions after all.  “Will Night be ok with me staying here?” Prompto asked curiously, and Gladio flickered as if shrugging.

“As long as I say I let you in, he won’t really care.  He’s pretty laid back,” Gladio replied.  “Too laid back if you ask me,” he added with a glower.  “You can just make up some reason to stay and it’ll work out.”

Prompto snorted, wondering at Gladio’s description and how it contrasted with the rumors about the wizard.  He supposed he’d have to find out in the morning.  “Alright then.  Well, goodnight, Gladio,” Prompto said, taking off his boots and climbing onto the couch.  He made himself as comfortable as he could on the old couch, glad that it was at least soft as he pulled the blanket over him and rested his head on the pillow. 

He barely registered Gladio’s gruff response of, “Night,” as his eyes slid shut and sleep overtook him.  He had a feeling he’d have another long day ahead of him, especially if he was going to go with his plan to introduce himself as Night’s new butler in the morning – someone had to tidy up this place if Prompto was going to be staying here for awhile.


	4. The Wizard Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto finally meets the infamous wizard~

Prompto woke up the next morning to a loud crashing sound.  He sat up with a bolt, before wincing as his body protested to the movement, and blearily looked around in confusion when he realized it wasn’t his room.  That’s when he remembered all that had happened the day before.  He turned his head to see a boy with light brown hair and wide brown eyes staring at him in surprise.  At his feet was a box filled with trinkets that he had apparently dropped upon seeing a stranger in his home.  “Gladio, who is this stranger?” the boy asked nervously.

“This stranger’s name is Prompto, and he can tell you that himself,” Gladio said grumpily.  He looked like he had just woken up as well, which Prompto found curious since he wasn’t aware daemons could sleep.

Prompto carefully stood up before bowing slightly.  “Gladio here hired me as help for the castle,” he explained.  “He’s tired of it being so dirty all of the time.  I’m to be a butler of sorts.”  The boy still looked unsure, so Prompto gave him a reassuring smile.

“My name is Prompto Argentum,” he explained.  The boy tilted his head slightly, as if he recognized the name, while looking at Prompto in confusion.  “What’s your name?”

The boy hesitantly replied, “My name is Talcott Hester.  I’m Night’s apprentice.  Your name is Prompto?”

“Yeah, pretty sure we both told you that kid,” Gladio replied grumpily, and Talcott rolled his eyes.

“Ignore Gladio – he’s always grumpy when he first wakes up,” Talcott replied cheerfully.  “He’s normally an early riser but something must have kept him up last night.”

Prompto looked slightly embarrassed.  “I’m normally an early riser myself,” he admitted.

“So, if you’re Prompto…did Night ask you to come?” Talcott asked hesitantly.  Prompto’s brows raised in confusion.  This was the second time someone had assumed he knew Night – this time someone close to him – and he had noticed Talcott’s reaction to his name earlier as well.  “Also, you don’t look…how I thought you’d look.”

“Ah, that’s because I had a curse placed on me.  That’s actually how I ended up here before Gladio offered me a job,” Prompto replied.

Talcott nodded his head before blushing as his stomach grumbled.  Prompto chuckled before asking, “Do you want me to throw together something for breakfast?”

“Well, we don’t have much,” Talcott said hesitantly.  “I can probably find some cheese and bread.  And I’m sure one of the towns delivered milk by now,” he said more to himself.

Prompto’s eyes swept the room and he noticed a few other items that looked edible.  “I see a basket over there with some wrapped meat – I assume it’s bacon – and eggs. They look fresh,” he commented, going to inspect it.

“Yeah but Gladio won’t let anyone cook on him but Night,” Talcott protested.  “So, when he’s not around I have to scrounge up something else or go into town.”

“Nonsense,” Prompto said confidently, before grabbing a few eggs and pieces of bacon.  He brought a plate over to the hearth where Gladio was located before grabbing a skillet.  “You’ll let me cook, won’t you?” he asked with a conspiratorial grin.

“I don’t think so,” Gladio said, puffing up his flame proudly.

Prompto leaned closer and murmured, “I could just tell Talcott and Night about our little agreement too,” and Gladio glowered at him.

“Hey, that’s not fa…” he started to protest until Prompto gently set the skillet on him.  To Talcott’s amazement, Gladio lowered himself to useable flame, and Prompto soon had eggs and bacon sizzling in the skillet.

“Are you sure you’re not a wizard?” Talcott asked, just as a little wheel next to the door made a clicking sound as it swiveled around and changed to point at a pie shaped piece that was painted black.  “Oh, looks like Night’s home!” Talcott said excitedly as the doorknob turned and the door swung open.

Prompto looked over curiously and then found himself staring in stunned silence when he realized he recognized the man.  Night was none other than the mysterious stranger who saved him from the soldiers and the daemons back in Hammerhead.  He was still dressed in elegant black clothes and had his hair done up to perfection, this time in different shades of blue.  His eyes immediately caught Prompto’s and he looked taken aback upon seeing him, while Prompto quickly turned his head in embarrassment, squeezing his eyes shut.  So that mysterious, handsome stranger was the Wizard Night, and he was now seeing him as a pathetic old man.  Just great.  Although, Prompto realized, it didn’t really matter since Night was known to go after women anyway.  Looks like he never stood a chance…although if he really eats women’s hearts that’s probably a good thing.

Prompto shook his head, staring down at the food he was cooking and trying his best not to notice the sounds of Night’s footsteps as he made his way up the stairs and over to him.  Thus, he missed Night’s sharp gaze and the flash of magic as he tried to identify – and break – the curse that had been placed upon Prompto.  “Fancy seeing you here,” Night commented, a slight frown on his face since he realized that the curse placed on the young man was too strong for him to break.  This would require more research.

“Likewise,” Prompto replied nervously, pulling the skillet away from the flames and sliding the food onto two plates.  “Would…you like me to make you something as well?” he asked hesitantly. 

“I already ate,” Night said, his eyes sweeping over Prompto.  He was able to see the glimpses of the attractive man he had encountered in Hammerhead underneath the spell and was secretly thrilled that he had wound up at his home.  “That’s quite a curse on you.  I am pretty sure I can guess at the origin,” he said thoughtfully.  “Unfortunately, it’s out of my scope to break,” he said, his eyes slightly narrowed.  “What caused you to have the Wizard of the Waste place such a strong curse on you?”

Talcott gasped, while Gladio watched Prompto carefully.  He had also suspected the origin of Prompto’s curse, and figured he was right when Prompto had described the man who cursed him.  Prompto’s eyes widened.  “That was the Wizard of the Waste?” he asked, his voice slightly pitchy.  “Red hair, nasty attitude, old beat up hat?”

“That would be him,” Night nodded.  Prompto handed Talcott his plate, and the boy grabbed the cleanest cutlery he could find for them both to eat with.  Prompto looked down at his dingy knife and fork and winced – he had a lot of work ahead of him.

“He came in asking where _you_ were.  Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about since you didn’t give me your name, and he got mad and cursed me,” Prompto said grumpily.

Night sighed, leaning against the wall while looking at Prompto thoughtfully.  “I was afraid it was going to be something like that,” he said, almost to himself.  He then looked back at Prompto again.  “How did you end up here?”

“I was cutting through the Wastes to try to meet up with my sister,” Prompto explained.  “Gladio let me in for the night and hired me on as your butler because this place is so filthy.”  Night winced slightly, before glancing at Gladio thoughtfully.  He suspected there was more to it than that – daemons probably had enough magic to break such a curse, after all, and Gladio wouldn’t let just anyone use him as a cooking flame.  But, he liked the other man well enough and figured he ought to help him since it was partially due to him that he got cursed in the first place.

“We could use the help,” Night said thoughtfully.  “Very well, you’re hired!”

Talcott looked excited at the thought of having someone else around, especially someone able to cook, while Gladio smirked to himself.  Prompto and Talcott both began to dig into their food, while Night disappeared upstairs for a few minutes.  When he returned, he was wearing a new black outfit and his hair was now a shocking shade of violet.  Prompto couldn’t help but stare up at it in surprise, wondering how Night managed to come up with such colors.  “So, who’s your sister?  Which town is she in?” Night asked casually as he handed Gladio more wood from a stack sitting next to the hearth. 

Prompto frowned at the question, the words “maiden’s hearts” floating in his head.  He knew Aranea could take care of herself though and that there was no way Night would be able to catch her attention; she didn’t really like the flashy type.  “She lives in the capital and is training to be a witch.  I was hoping maybe she could help me,” he admitted.

“Training to be a witch?” Night said to himself.  “You can’t mean Aranea?”

Prompto’s eyes snapped up at him in surprise, and he felt his heart skip a beat.  “You’re Aranea’s brother?” Night asked, immediately flabbergasted.  A sinking feeling suddenly struck the young man, for he knew exactly how protective the older woman was over her brother. 

“You know Aranea?” Prompto asked, suddenly feeling protective, while also puzzled.  If Night really was eating maiden’s hearts, he doubted the other man would be able to speak of his sister so casually.  She would have definitely put a stop to it.

“Yeah, I buy a lot of ingredients from the witch she works for,” Night said, looking a bit pale.  “If you ever want to visit just let me know…”

Prompto felt excitement at the idea, for he hadn’t seen his sister in quite awhile.  Maybe talking to her would also help solve some of the contradictions surrounding the wizard as well.  “I’d like that,” he said softly, looking down at his empty plate thoughtfully.  Night watched him for a moment, also thoughtful, while Gladio huffed out some embers in annoyance, causing Talcott to giggle.  Talcott was looking between the two of them knowingly.

“Not today though.  I think I should get started on doing something with this mess,” Prompto said, waving his hand at the kitchen and living area.  Night shrugged his shoulders.

“Suit yourself.  I’ve got some errands to run.  Talcott can help you after he’s done some of his lessons for the morning.”  Night then gave a casual wave before turning the knob on the wheel by the door until it pointed to a yellow pie shape and stepped outside.  Prompto was surprised, for he realized that Night had stepped out onto what looked like the street of a city, and not the Wastes. 

“What on Eos?” he asked, and Talcott grinned.

“It’s magic,” he explained.  “I’ll go over some of the stuff in the house once I’ve finished studying.  You can turn the dial to each color except black – only Night knows where that goes.  Yellow leads to Insomnia, Red to Lestallum, and Blue to the Wastes.  Go ahead and try it – we need to collect our milk and newspapers anyway.”

Prompto immediately did just that, opening the door and stepping out to stare in amazement at the wide streets of the capital.  Insomnia was so much bigger than Hammerhead.  He grabbed the milk and newspaper before stepping back inside and turning it to red.  This time when he stepped out, he saw a city that wasn’t quite as grand as Insomnia and instead had narrow city streets filled with bustling people and lots of noise and excitement.  He could also smell something delicious drifting from a nearby food stand as he grabbed another milk and a newspaper and stepped inside.  He then turned the knob one more time until it turned to blue and stepped out to see the silent misty Wastes.  “Ok, this is a little more amazing that I originally thought,” Prompto admitted to himself as he stepped back in and closed the door.

Talcott grinned from where he was sitting on the floor, surrounded by books and rummaging through the box of trinkets so he could practice spells.  That cued Prompto to then look around the room appraisingly as he tried to figure out where to start first.  Gladio eyed him warily, surprised that the cursed man was actually going to clean.  He couldn’t even remember what the room looked like originally at this point, so he was interested to see what would happen.  “Well, time to get started,” Prompto said, sucking in a breath before asking Talcott where the cleaning supplies were.  It took him about 10 minutes to assemble them all and then he got to work, deciding to tackle the kitchen and dishes first.  He had a long day ahead of him.


	5. Cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto gets to work cleaning the castle~

About an hour into cleaning, Prompto regretted his choice not to go and see Aranea.  After washing the dishes and setting them out to dry since he wasn’t sure where to put them yet, he had gotten to work trying to sort out the kitchen.  He cleared out things from the cupboards and threw out anything that was no longer usable, before laying out everything left so it could get cleaned properly.  He then took the time to wipe down the cupboards and all the surfaces of the kitchen, before then putting away all of the dishes that were now dry.  He then took a break and went to sit next to Gladio to catch his breath and allow his aching bones a rest.  He had started out energized, but with his current body he couldn’t maintain it. 

“That didn’t take long,” Gladio commented lazily, and Prompto glared at him before leaning back.

“These old bones aren’t what they used to be,” he grimaced, and the fire seemed to smirk at him.

“Talking like that already are you?” the daemon asked pointedly.  “And here I thought you had more spunk than that.  I mean you did walk through the Wastes on your own and at night at that.  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed.”

Prompto sighed.  “There’s not much to be impressed by when it comes to me,” he muttered under his breath, and the fire quieted.  Talcott glanced over at his comment, eyes meeting Gladio’s who used his flames to appear to shrug.

“I find that pretty impressive,” Talcott spoke up.  “Not even Night likes going out in the Wastes if he can help it.”

“Why does he keep this place there then?” Prompto asked curiously.  “Especially since it looks like he can locate it anywhere he pleases.”

“For protection,” Talcott shrugs.  “Most people don’t go into the Wastes after all.  He can hide out here and uses his magic wards to hide us from anyone who may be looking for him.”  Prompto thought back to the Wizard of the Waste and shivered.  He couldn’t blame the guy if he had people like that after him.  Their conversation did help with his resolve, though, and he found himself looking at the pile of ash located around Gladio.

“That can’t be very comfortable for you,” he mused and Gladio morphed his flames into giving Prompto a strange look.

“What can’t?” he asked curiously.

“All of that mess around you,” Prompto said.  “Looks like I should clean your area next.”  Prompto jumped up and got to work, sweeping the ash off of the hearth and wiping everything down around the fire.  He then piled up some of the firewood neatly next to Gladio so it was easily within his reach before turning to look at the mess around where he slept last night.  Prompto rolled up his sleeves and got to work.  Two hours later, he had sorted through all of the mess in the living and dining room area, using Talcott’s help to determine what needed to be kept and what could be tossed out.  He had wiped down and dusted all of the now clear surfaces and was ready to clean all of the items and wipe all of the dust from the books before organizing them on the various bookshelves scattered throughout the room.  Before then, however, he needed something to eat.

“Talcott, do you want to go get something for lunch?” he asked, looking through his pack he brought with him for his spare change of clothes.  “Where’s the bathroom?”

“It’s…also kind of a mess.  But I’ll show you,” Talcott said, leaping up from his studies and bringing Prompto upstairs.  Once Prompto stepped inside he immediately made a face – he could tell what Talcott meant for it was a terrible mess with potions and concoctions scattered everywhere and the tub multicolored from their aftereffects.  He ran water from the sink to do a quick towel clean in order to wipe away his sweat and dirt, deciding to wait to bathe until after he had a chance to clean the bathroom, before changing clothes and heading downstairs.

“I know just the place to take you,” Talcott said excitedly from where he had been sitting at the table and studying.  He lept up before heading to the door, changing the dial to the Lestallum setting and leading him outside.  Prompto couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the bustling city as they weaved their way through the tight streets filled with other people going about their day to day lives.  At the same time, however, his eyes caught the details of the architecture in the buildings, and he couldn’t help but feel excited at the fact he had finally done it.  He was somewhere that wasn’t Hammerhead and had one of his sketchbooks and some of his pencils safely tucked away in his bag in the castle for him to document it.  It was basically what he always dreamed to do, even if it wasn’t the ideal circumstances.  Prompto couldn’t wait to draw some of the interesting people he spotted on the streets along with the buildings so different from what he was used to back home.

And that’s when Talcott finally stopped in front of what Prompto would later learn was called a street vendor.  “This place has some of the best food,” Talcott said excitedly.  “It’s Galahdian and really good.  I’m sure you’ll love it!”

Prompto stared at the offered food – different kinds of roasted meats and breads with curries, and he was at a loss as to what to order.  They all looked and smelled exotic to him since that type of cuisine was not readily available where he was from.  “I’ll have whatever you’ll recommend, little man,” Prompto said, and Talcott immediately flushed.

“I’m not little!” he complained, and Prompto couldn’t help but grin at his response.  It reminded him of himself as a child whenever Aranea would call him shortcake.

“Sorry, Talcott,” he replied, and Talcott let out a huff.  He then carefully eyed the menu before ordering both of them one of the meat skewers and getting some of the bread with a spicy curry to share.  Their food was immediately exchanged for payment, and Talcott waved Prompto over to some outdoor tables sitting nearby for them to use.  They people watched and chatted as they ate, Prompto immediately loving the spicy curry, fresh bread, and the smoky meat. 

“You have good tastes,” he grinned, and Talcott smiled back.

“The curry is a bit too hot for me, but I’m glad you like it,” Talcott replied.  “But yeah, the first thing I tried when Night took me to Lestallum was the Galahdian food, so I thought you’d like it too.”

Prompto grinned before letting out a satisfied sigh.  “That’s really what I needed before getting back to work,” he said.  Now that he had a rest, his body felt a little less tired, although it was still sore.  He figured after all that work even at his body’s normal age he’d still be a bit sore though.

“What did you do before?” Talcott asked curiously.

“Oh, I run my dad’s hat shop,” Prompto said.  “I come up with the designs and make most of them too.  I had to temporarily close it when this all happened.”

“Do you miss it?” Talcott asked curiously, then wrinkled his nose.  “Sounds kind of stuffy to me.”

Prompto laughed.  “It’s very stuffy,” he agreed.  “I don’t miss it…but I do have to go back eventually.”

Talcott bit back his next question, figuring it may be a bit rude, and instead got up.  “Sometimes studying all day can be stuffy too, but Night says every wizard needs a good foundation,” he said.  “But, I think I’ve done most of what he wanted me to work on today, so I can help you with some of the cleaning.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Prompto decided, before following Talcott back to the correct door.  To his surprise, from the outside it looked like a normal building with a door that seemed to lead inside to a first floor apartment.  Instead, when they stepped inside they were back in Night’s magical castle.  “That’s a pretty impressive trick,” Prompto commented as Gladio greeted them.  They both headed up the stairs, returning the greeting while looking around at the room.  It already looked much better.

“Yeah, it’s an illusion.  The building was abandoned and Night used magic to transform it.  No one on the city council seems to remember it’s there,” Talcott shrugged.  “He’s pretty crafty when he wants to be!  So, what do you want me to work on?”

Prompto set Talcott to polishing, while he wiped down all of the books and organized them by title before placing them on the shelf.  Then, Talcott helped him wipe down and clean any remaining magical objects and knick-knacks Night had collected over the years before dispersing them throughout the shelves.  Talcott then brought his trinket box up to his room while Prompto cleaned off the table and got ready to sweep the floors.   Talcott took the time to tidy up his own room, which was honestly in much better condition than anywhere else in the house, while Prompto swept the cobwebs from the ceilings and got to work sweeping and mopping the floors.  Once he was done, the downstairs finally looked sparkling clean.

“I can’t believe you managed to do this in a day,” Gladio said, staring around the room while dumbstruck.  “Also, thank you for moving the wood closer to me.  I’ve nearly gone out a few times due to Night’s absentmindedness,” he grumbled.

Prompto grinned at him.  “No problem,” he replied.  “I’m not done yet though – I still want to tackle the bathroom today.”

“Good luck there.  I can only imagine how awful it looks,” Gladio commented.  “Let me know if you need hot water for your bath though.”

“Appreciate it!” Prompto called, for he was already halfway up the stairs carrying his bucket of cleaning supplies.  Once he reached the bathroom he looked around, trying to decide where to start.  He figured he would clean the clutter around the sink first, and he carefully looked at each bottle, immediately noting that only half of them were marked.  He frowned and tried his best to keep them in some sort of order as he set them on the floor, before thoroughly cleaning the sink, mirror, and shelves in the medicine cabinet.  Then he carefully arranged all of the different vials and moved on to tackle the toilet and bathtub.  After about another hour, both were sparkling clean which left sweeping and mopping the bathroom floor.  Once he was done, Prompto was fully exhausted, and he slowly made his way back downstairs, back once again screaming in pain at him.

‘No wonder Cid is grumpy all the time,’ Prompto thought to himself when he finally reached the bottom.  He rummaged through his bag to find some sleeping clothes before asking Gladio, “Can you heat up that water for me?” causing the fire daemon to grunt in reply.

Prompto smiled gratefully.  One his way back upstairs, he knocked on Talcott’s door.  “I’m going to take a bath.  If you can, grab a few things for me to cook for us for dinner tonight?”

“Sure thing!” Talcott called, and Prompto then made his way to the bathroom.  Unlike earlier, where the water had been lukewarm, this time when Prompto turned the taps it was nice and hot, and when he climbed into the bathtub and leaned back he couldn’t help but momentarily close his eyes blissfully.  This was definitely needed after his long day.  Prompto allowed himself to soak for a few minutes before cleaning himself off, drying off with the cleanest looking towel in the room.  Tomorrow, along with cleaning the hallway upstairs, he would definitely have to do laundry.  Once Prompto had dried off and changed clothes, he headed downstairs, feeling much better, and grinned when he saw Talcott waiting patiently for him at the table with some fresh food for dinner sprawled out on it.  Talcott had picked up a loaf of bread, some potatoes, and what appeared to be a Garula steak.  Prompto noticed a distinct lack of healthy vegetables, but figured he’d help with the shopping next time to fix that.

“It looks like we’ll be eating well tonight,” he grinned.  “Will Night be coming back?”

“He usually does.  I made sure to get enough for all three of us,” Talcott replied.  He looked excited as Prompto grabbed an apron he had found when looking for cleaning supplied and tied it on.  Prompto then pulled out a freshly clean cutting board and the sharpest knife he could find before setting to work peeling and slicing the potatoes.  He piled them in a dish and threw on some seasoning before giving Gladio some instructions as he slid them into the oven built into the hearth so they could bake.  He fed Gladio the potato scraps after Talcott explained the fire daemon liked that sort of thing, and it seemed to cheer him up.

“Night is usually too heartless to feed me anything,” he sighed.  “It looks like things will be better now that you’re around.”

Prompto then got to trimming the steak, cutting it into three portions before seasoning it and pulling out the skillet from earlier.  He tossed in some butter before frying up the steaks, finishing them just as the potatoes were done and as Night finally returned home.  “Something smells good,” he said, before his eyes zoomed in on the three plates of food Prompto was working on.  “Looks like I returned at a good time!”

He then sat down next to Talcott.  “So, what did you learn today?” he asked.  Prompto was slightly impressed as he watched Night listen to Talcott speak, carefully asking him questions that led Talcott to understand what each of his lessons were for the day.  He worded them in a way that caused Talcott to come up with the answer, instead of Night telling him directly, and Prompto couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed by both that and his patience.  Night was continuing to be an enigma and he couldn’t tell if the man from the rumors, the man who flirted with him, or the man before him now was the real one.

Once they both seemed to have wrapped up their discussion and everyone had cleaned their plates of their food, Prompto finally spoke up.  “Does your offer still stand to take me to my sister?” he asked curiously.

Night nodded.  “Of course.  I have to swing by Monica’s tomorrow anyway to refill my stock.  I…didn’t realize how low I was,” he said, looking around at his newly organized house.  “I must admit, it’s much easier to tell this way.  You did a great job!”

“Thanks,” Prompto replied, feeling a bit shy.  “There’s still a lot to do, but I do feel like I accomplished a lot today.

Night then looked back at the couch and Prompto’s neatly packed bag sitting next to it.  “That won’t do,” he muttered to himself, before saying an incantation under his breath and waving his hand out.  To Prompto’s surprise, the couch transformed itself into a soft looking daybed with plump pillows and a down comforter.  He looked over at Night for encouragement, who nodded with a grin, before making his way over to the bed and placing a careful hand on it. 

“It’s so soft!” he said, amazed not only by the quality but also at seeing magic performed so plainly in front of him.  He was reminded again of the first time he had met Night and how they had literally walked on the air.  Apparently the Wizard Night was just as powerful as the rumors said.

“You should be much more comfortable tonight,” Night agreed.  “Now, I’m going to head upstairs for the evening.  I’m sure you’re exhausted and need your rest.”

“Well, first I should probably do dishes,” Prompto started to protest, and Talcott immediately interrupted.

“I can do those,” he said excitedly.  “Now that they’re not all one big pile.”

“There you go,” Night said.  “Now, rest.”  He then made his way upstairs and disappeared, causing Prompto to shake his head.

“I’m going to clean my teeth.  Thank you for helping with the dishes,” he said, and Talcott waved in reply.

Once he came back downstairs, he pulled out his sketchbook, deciding the first thing he wanted to draw was Gladio.  He stared at the fire daemon who stared back at his curiously as he worked.  “What do you have there?” he asked.

“It’s my sketchbook,” he commented.

“Are you designing a hat?” Talcott asked curiously, already finished with the dishes.  He came over to take a look.

“No, actually.  I prefer drawing the things around me when I can,” Prompto explained before turning the picture around to show Talcott.  He had captured the daemon’s curious expression in the flames perfectly, and Talcott clapped his hands in excitement. 

“Wow, you’re really good!  You should show Gladio!” he said. 

Prompto got up and shyly walked closer to the fire daemon, who peered at the drawing curiously.  “Not bad,” was his simple reply, but Prompto could tell by his smirk that he was pretty pleased by it.

“Can you draw me too?” Talcott asked, and Prompto chuckled.  Other than his sisters and occasionally his dad, no one had shown interest in his art before.

“Yeah, but not tonight.  I really am getting tired,” Prompto admitted.

“Goodnight, Prompto!” Talcott said, before making his way upstairs.

“Night, Talc,” Prompto said with a yawn.  “And night to you too, Gladio.”

The fire daemon seemed to dim slightly, as if to make it more comfortable for Prompto to fall asleep, and soon after he lay down in his soft, new bed, he felt himself drifting off.  Maybe Aranea would have some answers for him tomorrow.  Regardless, it would be nice to see his sister again.


	6. Aranea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night brings Prompto to see his sister in Insomnia.

The next morning, Prompto woke up at his usual time, glad that he didn’t sleep in late despite all the hard work he did the day before.  Gladio was making a crackling sound and Prompto looked over to see that it appeared as if he had just grabbed a new log to burn.  “Good morning,” he yawned.

“You’re up early,” Gladio commented.  “The kid won’t be up for another hour and Astrals only know when that lazy bum will be awake.”  Prompto laughed at that.

“Night likes to sleep, huh?” he mused.

“That’s putting it lightly,” Gladio snorted.  “It’ll be nice having my quiet mornings interrupted I guess…”

Prompto rolled his eyes.  “I’ll try not to be too much of a bother,” he said, before getting up and frowning at how stiff he felt.  Looks like he’d have to start with some stretches.

While he slowly stretched, Gladio observed.  “Humans are so frail,” he commented.  “You’re alright when you’re younger but once you age…” he trailed off.  “Daemons don’t have that problem.”

“It sounds lonely though,” Prompto said thoughtfully.  Gladio looked confused at his reply.  “What’s the point in living forever if you don’t spend that time with anyone?”

Gladio scoffed.  “Who needs that when you have power and strength?” he countered.

Prompto shrugged.  “There’s strength in relationships too,” he said, thinking back to his family.  He found himself missing them and was suddenly glad he’d be seeing his older sister today.

Since no one else was awake, and he wanted to wait on making breakfast until Talcott woke up, Prompto decided to pull out his sketchbook and work on drawing some of the things he had spotted in Lestallum yesterday.  The only sounds in the room were the crackling of Gladio’s fire, the scratch of his pencil, and a light wind blowing outside in the Wastes.  After about an hour, just as Gladio had predicted, Prompto heard a shuffling sound from upstairs as Talcott woke up.  He eventually seemed to disappear into the bathroom and Prompto watched in fascination as Gladio grabbed a few more pieces of wood so he could heat up the water for Talcott’s shower.  About ten minutes later, the boy came downstairs already dressed for the day with still damp hair.

“Good morning!  You’re up early today,” he said.

“Well, of course.  I usually wake up early,” Prompto replied.  Talcott wandered over to see what Prompto was drawing.  “Good morning to you too.”

“These look amazing!” Talcott said.  “I can’t believe you still remember what our lunch looked like!”

“I’ve got a knack for paying attention to details.  I think it’s why my hats do so well,” Prompto shrugged.  He then set down his sketchpad.  “Let me change real quick and I’ll get breakfast ready.”

Talcott cheered at that before heading to the table to grab a book to read while he waited.  Prompto grabbed his cleaner outfit before heading upstairs to change and get ready for the day, staring at his flat hair in the mirror and wondering if he should do something with it.  It looked strange flat since it was asymmetrical, but he doubted that styling it his normal way would look appropriate due to his age.  He settled for brushing his bangs forward like he used to do in his upper school years, tugging slightly on his long bang and lamenting the loss of his blond hair.  “At least I know when I get older, I don’t look half bad white,” he placated himself, trying to remain cheerful.

He headed back downstairs, reminding himself how desperately he needed to do laundry, before considering their options for breakfast.  “How do egg sandwiches sound?” he asked after a moment.

“Sounds good to me!” Talcott replied, while Gladio glowered at him.  Prompto smiled wanly before getting to work, grabbing some eggs and cheese along with slicing some of the bread left over from last night.  He soon had the eggs frying and the bread toasting, before throwing the cheese on the eggs right before plating them as a sandwich.  Talcott grabbed the milk that had been delivered in Lestallum and Insomnia for them to drink and they settled down for their meal.  Once they were done, Talcott went back to reading while Prompto quickly washed their dishes.  He then tried to decide if he should draw some more or start on chores. 

“So exactly how late does Night usually sleep in?” he asked, and Talcott glanced up at him. 

“If he wakes up before noon it’s a miracle,” he commented, and Prompto sighed.  He didn’t realize he’d be waiting so long to see his sister.  That pretty much led to his decision to tackle starting on laundry though, and he was soon looking around for the washboard, wooden tub, and soap.  Once he emerged victoriously from the rather disorganized linen closet (another thing Prompto added to his list), Gladio let out a loud groan.

“Great, more work.  You’re going to have to bring me more wood at this rate,” he grumbled as he grabbed two pieces to consume.

“It’s the price you have to pay for a better living environment,” Prompto quipped back as he went to the sink to pump some water to heat up.  He poured it into a large kettle which he brought over to sit on an iron grate he could slide over Gladio for cooking. 

“Night sure knows how to pick ‘em,” Prompto thought he heard Gladio grumble to himself, and he shook his head.  He must have been hearing things.

Once he filled up the tub with boiling water, he had Talcott bring him any laundry from upstairs while he grabbed his own clothes and went through the linen closet trying to find things that looked like they needed to be washed.  He soon had a huge basket that he dragged outside before getting to work.  It was quiet in the Wastes, with weak light filtering in through the mist, and Prompto frowned at how much different it was from doing the task back in Hammerhead with the bright sunlight streaming overhead and the bustling crowd on the street outside.  He found he kind of missed it, although the quiet was kind of peaceful.  Luckily, the clothesline was upstairs on a balcony on the second floor which got more sunlight than on the ground, so once he was finished scrubbing all of the clothes and linens clean (quickly realizing that all the black had to belong to a certain sleeping wizard upstairs), he made his way upstairs in order to pin them to the clothesline.  To his relief, Talcott followed and helped him drape all of the clothes and linens on the line before clamping them down with the clothes pins. 

Once they were done, it was finally close to noon and it appeared Night was finally awake.  He came shuffling down the hall as Prompto and Talcott stepped out, immediately blanching when he spotted the two of them.  His hair which had been a violet color the night before now looked dark and it was messy since he hadn’t been to style it yet.  Night quickly covered his face while his muffled voice implored him, “Don’t look!”

Prompto chuckled.  “What does it matter to you if an old man sees you like that?”

Night lowered his arm slightly and Prompto could tell his blue eyes were frowning sharply at him.  “I always want to look my best,” he replied before stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Talcott was giggling to himself while Prompto looked confused.  “Night doesn’t like people he’s attracted to seeing him when he’s not dressed up,” Talcott explained.

“Night can’t be attracted to me though,” Prompto said with a sigh.  “I mean, look at me.”  Talcott gave him a thoughtful look.

“But he saw you before you were cursed, right?” he asked.

“I was nothing special then too,” Prompto shrugged before heading downstairs.  “He’s probably just shy or something.”

Prompto then headed downstairs, Talcott quietly following him.  “Well, I think you look pretty good, for a grandpa,” Talcott finally said cheerfully, and Prompto turned to ruffle his hair.

“Thanks, kid,” he said pointedly, while Talcott frowned at him.

“You’re the one who keeps calling yourself old,” he muttered to himself.  About half an hour later, Night finally made his way downstairs, dressed yet again in a black ensemble with hair a dark navy blue that slowly went to green and then to a lighter green at the tips.  Prompto looked up from his sketchbook and found himself yet again staring.  Only Night could pull off something like that and still look devastatingly attractive.

“Ready to go?” he asked casually, smirking at Prompto’s expression.

“We’re going to see Monica, right?” Talcott asked excitedly.  “And Miss Aranea?”

Prompto grinned at the name.  He was sure his sister hated it.  Night swallowed, throat suddenly dry at the mention of her name.  “Yeah, are you ready?”

“I believe we’ve both been waiting for you,” Prompto pointed out, and Night blushed slightly.

“I have to look presentable before going out, ok?” he replied, before eyeing Prompto’s outfit.  “Don’t you have anything that looks less drab?”

Prompto tugged on his straw hat.  “Not really,” he replied.  “These clothes suit me, especially with my age,” he shrugged.

Night didn’t look like he agreed, but he decided that was something he’d address at another time.  First he had to face Prompto’s sister.  “Well, guess I can’t put this off any longer,” he muttered, before turning the dial to Insomnia.  “Watch the house while we’re gone,” he called to Gladio, who laughed ironically in reply while muttering it wasn’t like he had a choice.

“We’ll be back soon,” Prompto said cheerfully, and he could tell by the fire daemon’s expression he appreciated his farewell better.

Night then stepped out and onto the busy streets of the capital.  The roads were much wider and grander looking than Lestallum, and most of the people were more nicely dressed as well.  Prompto found himself staring at the architecture as they walked, with the buildings more ornate and easier to look at since they weren’t crammed together as much as in the other city.  He couldn’t believe that this is where his sister lived.

After leading them down many different side streets that all branched together, Talcott explaining that the whole city was basically one big circle around the Citadel that stood directly in the middle and towered above everything else, they finally stopped in front of one that was called Monica’s Remedies.  Prompto looked up the street and his eyes widened when he realized he could make out the Citadel’s towers in the distance.  Before he could get a good look, however, Night had stepped inside, and he and Talcott quickly followed.

They were greeted by a slim, middle aged woman with short dark hair as soon as they stepped inside.  “Hello Night, Talcott,” she greeted.  “Here to pick up your weekly ingredients?”

Night nodded.  “We also have a visitor for Aranea.  Is she in?”

Monica looked over curiously at Prompto, eyes slightly narrowing as she noticed the curse on him.  “You look familiar,” she said, almost to herself, before stepping back behind the counter and disappearing into another room.  Moments later, Aranea stepped out, looking annoyed at being interrupted.

“Night, you brat, this better be good,” she trailed off, before her eyes looked up to meet Prompto’s.  She immediately dropped the jar she was holding, and it would have crashed to the floor if Night hadn’t immediately said an incantation to slow its fall.  Aranea stepped past him, completely ignoring Night and Talcott as she made her way to her brother.  “What happened to you?” she asked, before roughly pulling him in for a hug.

Prompto immediately closed his eyes as he hugged her back.  Aranea was a tall woman – taller than him – with silver hair pulled back in braids and sensible pants and a shirt, dressed liked a man.  She always hated dresses growing up and insisted that men’s clothes were simply better to move around in.  She was also gorgeous, in a fierce way, and Prompto had always looked up to her along with Cor.  It’s why seeing her immediately made him feel comforted.  “A strange man came into the shop the other day and cast a curse on me,” Prompto explained.  “Night says it must have been the Wizard of the Waste.”

“Oh, did he,” Aranea said dryly, before turning to stare him down.  Night flinched slightly.  “And how did you run into our overly flamboyant, lazy, good-for-nothing friend?” she asked, Night seeming to withdraw into himself with each barb.

“Am I really that bad?” he asked, and Aranea ignored him before turning to face her brother again.

“I ran into him briefly before going to see Cindy right before it happened,” Prompto explained, and Aranea sighed.

“I can’t believe you got mixed up with this idiot of all people.”  She turned back to give Night a pointed look, and Prompto could tell that she looked like she was accusing him of something.  Night flushed in reply before looking down.

Talcott, meanwhile, was talking to Monica about what ingredients they needed to buy.  She kept glancing over, quietly watching the spectacle as she realized why the strange older man looked so familiar.  Aranea had a family portrait sitting in her room, so she had seen the image of her younger brother many times.  ‘That is a very powerful curse,’ she frowned, realizing that if Night hadn’t broken it yet there was little she or Aranea could do.  Her specialty was more in potions and remedies than curse breaking.

“I wish you had told me what happened.  I got your letter yesterday along with one from Cindy.  We’re all worried sick,” she explained.  “I can only imagine what Cor’s reaction will be when he finally gets his.”

Night’s eyes widened even more at the name.  “I know I just…didn’t want her to see me like this,” Prompto looked down.  “I thought it would worry her more.  I was trying to get to you actually when I ran into his castle in the Wastes.”

Aranea glanced back at Night again, this time with a softer expression.  “Well, I guess Night has the best chance of all of us to figure this out,” she sighed.  “Thank you for picking up my brother, even if I suspect it’s your fault he’s in this mess.”

Prompto looked over at Night, feeling his heart fall at her words.  “So…you can’t think of a way to break it either?” he asked.

Aranea shook her head.  “This is well beyond my capabilities, or even Monica’s,” she frowned.  “Night is one of the strongest Wizards around, and despite his laziness he’s actually pretty sharp.  He’s got the best chance at finding a way to break it,” she explained.

“So…” Prompto leaned forward.  “He’s not a bad guy?”

“Bad guy?” Aranea asked, and Prompto winced at her loud reply.  Night’s brows furrowed as he overheard.  “Oh, you’re referring to those rumors.  This guy spreads those so people won’t bother him,” she sighed.  “He’s a spoiled brat, and a bit of a flirt, but he’s definitely not bad.”

Night looked a bit proud at her words, smirking slightly, until she followed it up with, “So don’t let him sweet talk you, understand me?  I’ll be keeping an eye on you two.”

Night sighed, while Talcott and Monica laughed behind him at his predicament.  Talcott had slipped Monica some money while she went to gather the ingredients they needed.  “I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Prompto said with false cheer.  “I mean, look at me…”

Aranea lifted an eyebrow.  “I dunno, your hair and wrinkles make you look more distinguished,” she teased.  “Plus, if he saw you beforehand, he knows how handsome you are.  I bet Cindy warned you too, didn’t she?”

Prompto sighed.  “Maybe,” he muttered.  He looked a bit defeated.  “So, there’s really nothing we can do?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Night spoke up finally.  He looked Prompto in the eyes before turning to look at Aranea.  “I promise,” he told her, and Aranea looked impressed by his resolved expression.

“I haven’t seen those eyes in awhile,” she said more to herself.  “Make sure you take care of shortcake for me, got it?”

Prompto blushed at her nickname, while Night looked amused and Talcott laughed.  “I will,” Night replied, eyes glancing back at Prompto again.  Prompto couldn’t quite figure out the expression, but he felt his blush return in reply.

Aranea let out a huff, before switching topics.  “How’s that chamberlain friend of yours?” she asked casually, and Prompto’s ears perked up.

Night scoffed.  “Insufferable,” he replied.  “You know he sent me no less than 20 letters last week?”

Aranea laughed.  “That sounds like Specs,” she said fondly.

“Are you talking about that Ignis guy?” Prompto quickly spoke up, and Aranea turned to him. 

“Yes.  I actually met Night through him,” she explained.  “Shortly after I started interning here.”

Prompto raised his eyebrows, suddenly wanting to hear more.  The more he learned about Night, the more of a mystery he seemed.  At least now he knew that the rumors about him eating maiden’s hearts was false.  “You been waxing poetic about Iggy, huh?” Night asked, a large grin on his face.  “I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that.  Maybe I should finally write him back.”

Aranea had a sour look on her face.  “Don’t push it, brat,” she replied.  “Or I may decide Prompto’s better off staying with me.”

That seemed to shut Night up to Prompto’s amusement, and they were soon wrapping up their meeting as they prepared to head back to Night’s for lunch.  Prompto gave Aranea another hug, and she patted his hair comfortingly this time.  “I’ll write a letter to Cindy and Cor letting them know what’s going on,” she explained.  “If he ever upsets you, just let me know about it, ok?”

“I will,” Prompto said.  “Thanks, sis.”

Aranea gave him a rare, soft smile, before letting out a long sigh as he left the shop behind Talcott and Night.  “That guy better not break my brother’s heart,” she grumbled under her breath, while Monica gave her a soft smile.

“You never know, maybe Prompto will change him,” she replied.  “It’s bound to happen one day.”

Aranea looked out at the door thoughtfully.  “I wonder if he already has,” she said, more to herself, before heading to her room located upstairs to draft both letters.  She had a lot to tell her sister and adopted father.


	7. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto starts to get settled into life at the castle and learns a little about magic.

When they returned to the castle, Night disappeared upstairs into his room while Talcott explained he was going to work on his magic.  “We probably won’t see him again until dinner,” he said with a shrug.

“I guess you should work on your studies too,” Prompto said.  “I’ll throw together something for lunch.”  He picked through the ingredients, before chopping up some potatoes and using the remainder of the milk and some cheese and seasoning in order to make a potato soup.  Talcott watched him eagerly, only half paying attention to his own work.  It was nice having someone to cook for him and he found it fascinating.  Soon, Prompto had ladled up two steaming bowls of soup while Gladio happily munched on the scraps. 

“Should I bring one to Night?” he asked, and Talcott shook his head.  “He doesn’t like to be disturbed.  I’m pretty sure he keeps snacks up there too.”

Prompto frowned slightly, and couldn’t help but think, ‘What kind of an example is he leaving Talcott?’ before settling in to eat.  Once they both finished their food, Talcott offered to clean the dishes which gave Prompto time to pull down the laundry which was dry by now so he could fold it up and put it away.  Next, he worked on gathering some wood for Gladio, chopping it up while it was still light outside so he wouldn’t be bothered by daemons before adding it to his pile.  “Now you can stop complaining,” Prompto said cheerfully, while Gladio snorted. 

“I’m surprised you could chop all of this with that frail body of yours,” he said, eyeing Prompto as he said it, and Prompto also felt surprised.  He had been so focused on his task at hand that his lack of strength and aches and pains had completely slipped his mind.  They were now back, however, and he grimaced before sitting down.

“You’re right,” he said.  “I don’t know where my strength came from.”  Gladio watched him thoughtfully, his light causing flickering shadows on the walls.

“It must be related to the curse,” he said.  “I don’t think you’ve actually aged, even though you appear to have and you think you have as well.  It’s a very complicated spell.”

“Well, I wish it would make it its mind,” Prompto said, standing back up with a groan.  He still had to dust and mop the hallway upstairs after all.  Once he was finished cleaning, Talcott had wrapped up his reading for the day and was eyeing him hopefully.

“So, what’s going to be for dinner?” he asked, and Prompto glanced back at him from where he had collapsed on his bed.

“I think we should do something light and healthy,” he declared.  “Which town do you think will have fresher fish?”

“Although Insomnia has the Wastes on one side, it’s actually on the water on the other,” Talcott explained.  “So their fish market is the best bet.”

“Can you show me where it is?” Prompto asked, slowly getting back up and reaching for his boots.

“You bet!” Talcott said, jumping up excitedly.  Prompto couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous over his energy and youth. 

‘You just don’t realize how good you have it until it’s gone,’ he thought to himself.  Talcott led Prompto back out to Insomnia, pointing out different places as they went so he could learn his way around the city.  This time Prompto managed to get a good look at the Citadel, windows sparkling in the light of the setting sun as they made their way to the market.  It was gorgeous, and Prompto for the first time really thought of the royal family of Lucis.  He figured that the people in Insomnia were constantly reminded of them, having such a stark reminder in the middle of the city, but where he lived people didn’t think about it unless something came up in the news.

Talcott tugged on his jacket, pulling him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see the front of the fish market.  There were people selling all kinds of seafood along with fruits and vegetables, and Prompto expertly made his way inside.  “What kind of fish do you like?” he asked Talcott.

“All kinds!  They sell a lot of barramundi and it tends to be fresh,” he suggested.  “Sea bass, trout…” he listed off.  “Night really loves fish too.  He’ll go out fishing all day and bring some home sometimes.  He tends to catch a lot of trout.”

Prompto looked thoughtful about that.  He couldn’t imagine Night with his flashy hair and dark clothes out fishing.  “Barramundi sounds good.  I know a few dishes for that,” Prompto said.  “We should get some vegetables to go with it.”  He glanced over at Talcott as he said it, but the boy didn’t seem to make any face or indicate he didn’t like it.  “I noticed there was a lack of vegetables in the castle,” he added.

“Yeah, Night hates vegetables so I don’t buy them.  I’ll get them when I go out to eat,” Talcott explained, and Prompto stared at him.

“Are you serious?” he asked, and Talcott nodded.

“Yeah, he definitely won’t eat them if you cook them, but I love them!”

Prompto shook his head.  Night was definitely more childish than Talcott was, that’s for sure.  After picking out some fish filets, Prompto got ginger and red pepper to use in the sauce along with ingredients for a side salad.  He made sure to not overdo it because he definitely didn’t want the vegetables to go to waste, especially if Night really did refuse to eat it.  They then headed back to the castle, Talcott sharing stories about some of the times Night had been faced with eating vegetables.  Prompto couldn’t help but laugh over some of them, trying to picture the wizard who always tried to act so suave making faces as he refused to eat. 

When they returned, they found Night sitting in a chair by Gladio, flipping through a book and glancing up as they walked through the door.  He spotted the basket of food in Prompto’s hands, and immediately wrinkled his nose when he noticed the greens.  “What is that?” he asked in disgust, and Prompto grinned.

“Your dinner,” he replied cheerfully.

“I’m not eating that,” Night said with a huff, and Prompto shook his head.

“I wasn’t aware that wizards could be such spoiled brats,” he chuckled as he set down his basket.  “Do you like fish bones?” he asked Gladio.

“Night is the worst kind of spoiled brat,” Gladio grumbled, and Night shot him a warning look.  “But, yeah, love ‘em.”

“Good, because I have some barramundi I’m going to cook as well,” Prompto said.  Night looked more enthusiastic at that, and walked over to watch as Prompto threw together the marinade and set the fish in it before getting started on the salad.

“I guess dinner isn’t a total loss,” he said, before returning over to where Talcott was sitting at the table.  They began reviewing his lessons just like the night before, and Prompto listened as he finished up the salad and sat it on the table.  Night slid away from it and refused to touch it while Talcott happily piled half onto his plate with a dressing Prompto had made for them.  He began munching on it as he talked while Prompto got to work cooking the fish in the skillet, Gladio already having given up his bitter commentary as Prompto cooked.  He was looking forward to the leftovers.

Night showed much more enthusiasm to the fish filet that Prompto set in front of him, quickly pulling the fish from the bone as he ate, while Prompto sat across from him and grabbed the rest of the salad.  Talcott also quickly ate his fish, telling Prompto how delicious it was once he was finished.  Prompto looked pretty pleased by his words, because he honestly had only taken up cooking once both his sisters had left the house so never had someone else eat it before.  It was nice knowing he was doing something right.  “Yeah, this is really good,” Night replied, finishing up all the meat he could pick out of the fish before feeding Gladio the remainder of the bones.  “I’m heading out for the night.  Don’t wait up,” he said before heading to the door, turning it to the dial that Talcott had warned Prompto never to use before stepping out into the dark.

Prompto picked up his and Talcott’s plates since they were also finished eating, feeding the scraps to Gladio who took care of them gladly before going over to wash the dishes.  “Do you have any clothes that need mending?” he asked, and Talcott thought for a moment before dashing upstairs.  He came back down with several articles of clothing that he had torn at some point and was still holding onto.

“I’ll have to see if Night has anything next time he’s around,” Prompto commented before grabbing his sewing kit from his bag.  Talcott sat and chatted with him, obviously happy to have some company other than Gladio as Prompto got to work, expertly sewing each hole and tear shut until it was almost like you couldn’t see it anymore.  In fact, as Talcott watched him work, he began to realize that you truthfully could not see the needlework anymore.

“Is that some sort of a trick?” he curiously asked, and Prompto blinked at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You can’t see where you mended it,” Talcott pointed out, leaning in closer.

“Oh, no.  When I sew things like that, the tear goes away,” Prompto replied.  “My sisters always used to comment on it too.”

“That means you have magic,” Talcott pointed out.  “Do you want to see if Night will teach you too?”

Prompto blushed and shook his head.  “If my magic is mending holes then it’s not anything that useful,” he replied, continuing his steady work.  “I wouldn’t want to waste his time.”

Gladio watched him knowingly but didn’t say anything, while Talcott frowned.  “Night told me all magic is useful,” he pointed out.  “I think you should still show him what you can do.”

“Maybe I will eventually,” Prompto shrugged, handing Talcott his first mended shirt.  Talcott looked it over and nodded to himself.

“This definitely contains magic,” he said.  “Did you do the same thing to the hats you made?”

Prompto mused.  “Everyone always said they were lucky,” he said thoughtfully.  “I didn’t believe them but the rumor was good for business.”

“You probably weave spells into them when you sew.  Or maybe even when you design it,” Talcott explained.  “I can teach you some of the basics – there are a lot of different ways to use magic!”  Prompto smiled as Talcott grabbed a book, eagerly telling him about some of the different types of spellcasting that ranged from Night’s more technical style, to the potions and herbs brewed by witches like Monica, to the more natural style that Prompto seemed to exhibit.  “I’m more like Night which is why he agreed to be my teacher,” Talcott explained. 

“I didn’t realize there was so much involved with magic,” Prompto mused.  “It was always just something that some people can do to me.”

“Well just you wait until Night sees you,” Talcott replied confidently.  He then let out a yawn.  “I think I’m going to go to bed though,” he said.

“Goodnight, Talc,” Prompto grinned waving as the boy headed upstairs.  It didn’t take him long to finish mending the clothes, and he soon had them neatly folded on the table. 

“The kid’s right, you should show Night,” Gladio commented.  “The kind of magic you have is actually quite useful because it comes so naturally to you.”

Prompto let out a yawn.  “Maybe.  He has to be around for me to show him though,” he joked.  The resident wizard seemed pretty flighty and was constantly in and out from what he could tell.

“Well, you do have a point there,” Gladio agreed.  He began to dim his light, just like the night before, and soon the room had taken on a cozy glow.  Prompto changed into his nightclothes before crawling under the covers, sighing as his aching muscles began to sink into the soft mattress.  He was soon passed out.

Hours later, Night quietly returned, noting Prompto’s sleeping form.  He looked younger in his sleep, almost closer to his real age, and he frowned slightly.  That curse was certainly tricky and he was having a lot of trouble getting to the root of it.  “How did it go?” Gladio quietly asked, and Night shook his head.

“Didn’t uncover much,” he admitted, running his hand through his hair.  His spell had worn off and it had returned to its natural black color.

“Your crush continues to get more and more interesting,” Gladio commented, and Night frowned at him.

“What do you mean?” he asked, blue eyes darting over to look back at his sleeping form.

“Look at those shirts he mended,” Gladio replied and Night walked over before picking one up.  His eyes looked at the garment carefully, and he immediately picked up on the magical spell that had embedded itself in the cloth.  He quickly tried to tear it, and grinned when it steadfastly held.

“This is pretty powerful,” he murmured to himself.  “You’re sure Prompto did this?”

“Yes.  He thinks it’s nothing special.  But he doesn’t need spells or formulas like you do,” the fire daemon explained.

“I’ll have to talk to him about this,” Night mused.  “But for now, I’m exhausted.”

He tiredly waved before making his way upstairs, mulling over these new developments in his head.  If Ardyn had known Prompto had magic, he may have purposefully made the curse more complicated knowing that the blond may have naturally overcome it himself.  No wonder it was being such a pain.  When Night stepped into his messy room, carefully locking the door behind him, he collapsed onto his unmade bed and stared at the different baubles and charms he had hanging from the ceiling as more protective wards for the castle.  The more he got to know Prompto, the more he was seeing different sides to him than their brief initial meeting.  He had somehow managed to get along with Gladio, was treating Talcott kindly, and was restructuring his home from the disaster it had become.  For someone with such a terrible curse on him, he was handling it quite well and seemed intent on moving forward instead of letting it weigh him down.  And now, he was learning, Prompto had magic on top of it all.  ‘Very interesting indeed,’ he thought, before his eyes slid shut and he drifted off.


	8. The Wizard Gar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto receives letters addressed to the Wizard Gar and the Wizard Nox.

A few days later, Prompto was sitting in the alley in Lestallum in front of the illusioned door to the castle, selling spells to the locals who came up to buy them.  Usually Talcott was the one who sold them since Night was still asleep this early in the day, but he had errands to run this morning to get ready for a test and had begged Prompto to take his spot.  Luckily, each spell was clearly labeled and priced so his job was pretty easy.  Everyone who came up seemed curious about him, several asking if he was either Talcott’s grandfather or Gar’s father, and it took Prompto a little while to realize that when they said Gar they were referring to Night.  Apparently, while those in Hammerhead knew him as Night, here in Lestallum he went by the Wizard Gar and was known for his shop.  Prompto couldn’t help but find it a laughably pitiful pseudonym, and wondered how no one in town found the name strange.

‘I wonder if he goes by a different name in Insomnia,’ he pondered in amusement.  Everyone in town had been rather kind to him that morning, which had put him in a good mood, and he appreciated the respect and reverence he got from most of the visitors due to his perceived age.  He certainly wasn’t used to it back in Hammerhead and thought it was a small perk to help offset his constant aches and pains.

Prompto’s musings were interrupted by the arrival of someone he didn’t expect – one of the Kingsglaive.  While the King’s personal guard – the Crownsguard – stayed in Insomnia, the surrounding cities in the kingdom were policed by the Kingsglaive who also worked on behalf of the crown.  He was heavyset with facial hair and dark hair pulled back into a small ponytail, and Prompto noticed he was carrying something in his hand.  “Is the Wizard Gar home?” he asked, looking less than enthused to be on courier duty.

“I believe he’s stepped out,” Prompto dutifully lied.  Talcott had warned him if any Kingsglaive or Crownsguard approached to always pretend Night wasn’t home.

“Please make sure he gets this message.  It’s from the royal chamberlain,” the Glaive explained before handing him the sealed letter.  Prompto took it from him curiously while the Glaive looked over the spells with some interest.

“Crowe would kill for some of these,” he muttered before picking one up.  “They’re much higher quality than I would expect from a small wizard’s shop in the alleyway.”  His eyes narrowed slightly as he picked a spell that was meant to increase stamina.  “Do any of these help with motion sickness?” he asked curiously.

Prompto figured he may need one for the trip back to Insomnia.  “Hmm…I believe this one would do the trick,” he said, holding out one of the charmed talismans. 

The man took it from him while looking at it carefully.  “Thanks, gramps, I think I’ll get it,” he said, passing Prompto some coin.  “The name's Libertus by the way.”

“Prompto.  It’s nice to meet you,” Prompto replied, shaking his hand firmly.  Libertus seemed surprised by his grip and gave him an odd look.

“Make sure Gar reads that – I don’t think he’s ever responded to that guy’s summons yet,” Libertus commented before waving and heading out.

Prompto watched him go before glancing down at the letter curiously.  He decided to contain himself, however, and refrained from opening it.  He was soon relieved by Talcott who finally returned from his errands and headed inside, pondering over what he should work on cleaning for the day.  The castle was in much better condition now, and all of his cleaning had turned to upkeep at this point.  Before he could get started on more laundry, however, he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“It’s coming from Insomnia,” Gladio offered helpfully, and Prompto nodded before turning the dial and opening the door.

This time there was a Crownsguard at the door.  “Message for the Wizard Nox,” he said, handing Prompto another sealed letter before immediately leaving.  Prompto had a feeling that he must have been used to delivering these letters quite often, and at this point didn’t even bother with an explanation.  Prompto turned the letter around in his hand, looking at the royal seal which was a skull symbol in black wax, briefly remembering Night mentioning something about receiving a lot of letters from that guy that Aranea was talking to.

‘Didn’t they call him a chamberlain too?’ he pondered before setting the letter on the table next to the first one, wondering how both his sister and Night would know someone tied to the royal family.

Moments later, Night swept into the room, almost as if summoned by Prompto’s thoughts.  Today his hair was a mix of magenta and bright blue and had a spell on it that gave it a glittery effect.  “What on Eos can you even call that?” Prompto asked, pointing at his hair, and Night pouted.

“I call it the galaxy look,” he replied while Gladio snickered.  Prompto wondered if his old age was making him close minded, because he had a feeling if he was at his normal age he may have found it cool. 

He struggled with himself for a moment before finally saying, “It’s pretty creative, I guess,” and Night seemed happy at his reply.

“You should let me fix your hair,” he said thoughtfully.  “You’d look closer to your real age.”

Prompto shook his head.  “I’d look like a ridiculous old man,” he argued, reaching up to pat it.  It was starting to grow out now, and he was trying to get it long enough to cut evenly with a look more respectable to his age.

“Well, at least let me do something with your clothes,” Night pressed.  “It’s depressing seeing you look drab all the time.”

Prompto felt a bit offended by that.  “I mean these are the clothes I’ve always worn,” he pointed out testily.  “I’m fine with how I look, Night.”

Night grit his teeth, muttering under his breath, “But you deserve better,” before noticing the letters on the table.  Prompto felt his face flush at Night’s comment but tried to ignore it.  He wasn’t sure why the wizard seemed so worried about his appearance anyway.

“Why do you have so many different names?” he asked.  “In Lestallum they all call you Gar – which is a terrible name by the way – and in Insomnia they called you Nox.”

Night had picked up the letters and to Prompto’s surprise he immediately tossed them into the fire, Gladio gleefully turning them to ash in mere moments.  “I use the pseudonyms to try to avoid detection,” he shrugged.  “No one’s seemed to realize that Gar, Nox, and Night are the same person.  No one except Iggy that is – I don’t know how he always manages to figure it out,” he muttered.

“Are you sure you should be burning a royal summons?” Prompto asked in surprise.  “Also, why do both you and my sister seem to know the royal chamberlain?”

Night chuckled before sitting down in the chair Prompto usually kept next to the fire.  “It’s a long story.  But because I’m a powerful wizard, the crown is constantly hounding me for work.  And Aranea knows him through Monica who’s the official potions maker for the crown.”

“Wouldn’t working for the king be an honor?” Prompto asked in confusion.  In his curiosity, he seemed to have temporarily forgotten his aches and pains and was hovering excitedly near Night.

“If I worked for the king I would have less time to create my own spells or teach Talcott,” Night replied dismissively.  “Plus, it’s a serious pain in the ass.”

Prompto was actually a bit impressed by Night’s reply, for while he always disappeared into his room or often went out alone, Prompto hadn’t realized that he was doing anything useful.  ‘I guess those charms being sold out front had to have come from somewhere,’ he realized, for while a few simple ones were made by Talcott and sold at a reduced price, most of them were considered high quality according to what the townspeople said.  Yet again, Prompto found himself pondering at yet another surprising aspect to Night’s personality; he certainly hadn’t expected him to be so serious about something.

“I could teach you too, you know,” Night said casually, and Prompto glanced back at him.  “Magic.”

“Oh did Talcott tell you?” Prompto mused.  “Like I told him, I don’t think mending holes is anything that special.”  He let out a slightly bitter laugh.

“You did far more than magic away a seam,” Night replied with a frown.  He waved his hand while saying a spell, and soon one of the kitchen knives flew into his hand.  Night handed it to Prompto while saying straightforwardly, “Stab me.”

“What?” Prompto asked, while Gladio leaned forward in anticipation, his eyes flickering eagerly.

“Try to stab me right here,” Night said, placing his hand over his heart.

“I can’t do that!” Prompto retorted, and Night shook his head.

“Trust me.  This is one of the shirts you mended,” he insisted.  “I want you to understand the power you actually have.”

Prompto looked at the knife doubtfully in his hand before pushing the tip of the blade carefully against the cloth covering Night’s chest.  To his surprise, the fabric didn’t budge.  He pressed a bit harder, and noticed that Night didn’t even appear to feel it.  He then lifted up the shirt slightly and tried to cut through it, surprised when the knife that he had newly sharpened yesterday didn’t even make a nick in the fabric.

“You did something,” Prompto accused, and Night shook his head.

“This is your spell.  You must magic it when you mend them so they won’t need mending again,” Night explained.  “Which then makes them practically like armor while still feeling like normal clothing.”

Prompto pulled his hand away, looking amazed.  “I did that?” he asked, and Night nodded.

“Let me know if you decide you want to learn,” he said.  “I’m heading out though.”  He then turned the dial to the black setting before disappearing out the door.

Prompto slumped into his chair, thoughts of doing laundry far from his mind as he contemplated what Night told him.  Prompto had never thought of himself as anything that special, so finding out maybe he had been wrong this whole time was hard to swallow.  “You should let Night train you,” Gladio suggested.  “Maybe if you both work together more you’ll be able to gather more clues about our contract.”

Prompto let out a sigh.  “Maybe,” he mused.  “Do you have enough wood to boil some water for me?”  Gladio immediately began to complain about being overworked, while Prompto grinned good naturedly and headed to go fill his wash basin with water heated by Gladio.  Doing some hard work would help get his mind off of it, so Prompto dutifully kept himself busy until bedtime.  


	9. Cor the Immortal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto receives a surprise visit from his father~

A few days later, Prompto was busy mending some more clothes when he heard a knock at the door.  “It’s from Insomnia,” Gladio called out helpfully, interrupted from his nap. 

Prompto got up, frowning when his back cracked, and he had to stretch out his joints which were feeling stiff after sitting for too long.  He made his way over to the door, turning the knob to the Insomnia setting before swinging it open.  He froze once it opened, having to look up at the very stern and intimidating face of his father, Cor Leonis.  Cor was a tall man and had always towered over Prompto, but with his current older body that felt like it had shrunk slightly Cor felt even taller.  Prompto couldn’t help but gasp in surprise, especially when he noticed the pained look in his father’s eyes as he stared at him.  Cor suddenly looked aged himself and had a stricken expression.

“Who did this to you?” he demanded, his voice taking on a stern tone that he usually didn’t use around his children.  Prompto couldn’t help but flinch slightly, and Cor took a deep breath before letting it out.  “Are you going to invite me inside?” he asked, switching to a softer tone that he was more used to.

“Yeah...I mean, of course,” Prompto said, stepping back and turning back up the stairs.  Cor followed him, looking around the room curiously and glancing sharply at Gladio once he noticed him.  Gladio was surprisingly silent for a change, looking warily back at Cor while quietly crackling like a normal fire.

Prompto offered Cor a chair, and he sat down tiredly, eyes tracing over the wrinkles and gray hair on his son while he gripped his knees in irritation.  “A curse was placed on me…by the Wizard of the Wastes,” Prompto explained, and Cor grimaced at the name.  “But, it’s ok!  I’ve got a plan, mostly, and I’m working on breaking the curse on my own.”

Cor let out a deep sigh.  “If I had been there,” he started to say, and Prompto shook his head.

“You’re strong, dad, but that man’s a dangerous wizard.  There’s no telling what he would have done to you,” he pointed out.  “And I’m handling it, I promise.”  He gave Cor a reassuring grin, and the stern man let out his breath, although a fond look crossed his face in the process.  Leave it to his youngest to be positive even at this situation.

“You’ve really grown up, haven’t you,” Cor said, mostly to himself although Prompto heard him and couldn’t help but blush.  “I was hoping Aranea was somehow wrong but…” he trailed off with a frown.

“How’s the hat shop doing?” Prompto asked worriedly, since he had been gone several weeks by this point.

Another frown cropped on his father’s face and he said bluntly, “I closed it.”

Prompto’s eyes widened.  “But that’s the family shop!” he protested, and Cor shook his head.

“I only kept that shop open because I thought you liked it and it gave you a stable environment,” he explained.  “Your sisters both told me you were miserable there.  Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, and it was Prompto’s turn to sigh.

“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” he confessed, looking down.  For a brief moment, Cor saw a glimpse of his son how he normally looked, and his heart ached for him.

“Prompto.  Son,” Cor said, catching his attention.  Prompto glanced up at him, feeling his nervousness fade away as he saw the warm look in Cor’s eyes.  “I have never been disappointed in you.  And will never be disappointed in you,” he explained, before reaching out and ruffling Prompto’s hair like he used to when he was a boy.  “I have full faith that you’ll break this curse as well.  I just hope when you do, you’ll find something that makes you happy.”

“I’ve…been working on that too,” Prompto admitted, glancing over at his sketchbook which was sitting on his bed.  Cor grinned proudly at him before standing up.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said sincerely, before switching back into his work mode.  “Unfortunately, I have a job to complete for the king and won’t be able to stay long.”

Prompto looked a little disappointed, but knew with Cor’s mercenary work he was often on a time crunch.  Before he could respond, however, the dial on the door changed until it faced Lestallum, and Night and Talcott stepped inside from some errands they had been running in town.  Both stopped in surprise once they saw Cor, and Night’s eyes quickly flickered between the two.  “Ah, you’re back already?” Prompto asked in surprise, noting with concern the sharp look Cor was giving Night.  His eyes were narrowed and there was a definite stiffness to his jaw.

“What brings The Immortal to my humble abode?” Night asked cautiously, glancing over at Prompto in confusion.

“I was coming to check on my son,” Cor explained.  “How did he come into contact with you?” he asked, voice taking on a clipped tone that Prompto knew meant business.

Night looked uncomfortable, but before he could reply Prompto spoke up.  “Night’s the one helping me find a way to break the curse.  I stumbled upon his castle when I was traveling through the Wastes on my way to see Aranea after I was cursed, and he’s been helping me ever since.”

Cor turned back to look at Night again, asking, “Is that true?” and Night quickly nodded.

Cor let out a deep sigh, placing his hand on his sword while looking at Night thoughtfully.  He stepped down toward him, Talcott quickly ducking out of the way while Night surprisingly held his ground.  Cor leaned forward and murmured something at him that Prompto nor Talcott could hear, and they both watched as Night looked Cor in the eyes and nodded again.  Cor then turned, waving at Prompto and saying, “I’ll be sure to visit you and your sisters more often.  I can’t wait to hear news of your curse being broken.”  He gave Night a knowing look before turning to the door, Night quickly changing the dial so he could head outside.  Once he was gone, Gladio immediately spoke up.

“That man makes me uncomfortable,” he complained, and Night let out his breath.

“Me too,” he said, before looking back at Prompto.  “Do you have any other family members I should know about?”

“Only Cindy who you saw the first time – she’d probably kick your ass too,” Prompto said with a grin as Talcott rushed over to him.

“Cor the Immortal is your dad?” he asked eagerly and Prompto nodded.  “That’s so cool!” he said.  Cor, although a mercenary, usually only provided his services to King Regis and had a well-known reputation both inside and outside Lucis.  Prompto, meanwhile, was looking curiously over at Night, who seemed to be mulling over something. 

“Everything ok?” Prompto asked, and Night blinked before looking up at him.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he said.  “Thanks for stepping in there.  Anything I would have said he probably wouldn’t have believed.”

“You seem to know my dad pretty well,” Prompto said thoughtfully, and Night ran his hand through his hair nervously.  It was swirled with cotton candy pink and blue today and looked a little fluffier than usual. 

“Yeah, I’ve run into him a few times,” Night said vaguely.  He then glanced at the clock on the wall.  “Did you have any plans for dinner?” he asked Prompto.

He also glanced at the clock.  “Hmmm, not particularly.  I will have to run to the market to get some ingredients,” he said.  “We’ll be eating a bit late but…shouldn’t take too long.”

Night shook his head.  “How about I treat you tonight?” he asked, pulling out a bag of coins and swinging it around thoughtfully.

Talcott immediately frowned, looking mistrustful, while Gladio asked, “And where did you get that?”

“Finished a job,” Night replied.  “It’s fine to splurge every once in awhile, don’t you think?”

He turned the dial back to Lestellum, and soon Prompto and Talcott trailed behind him out the door, making their way to one of the food vendors and ordering their favorite dishes.  They all gathered around one of the outdoor tables, eating the hot, spicy food and commenting on the people that they watched walk by.  Prompto was immediately struck by how comfortable he felt; bantering with Talcott and Night almost felt like his childhood when it was him, Aranea, Cindy, and Cor, and he hadn’t expected for his new companions to feel so much like family.  Gladio too when they were at the house.

He trailed off from the conversation, and noticed both Night and Talcott glance at him.  “Everything ok?” Talcott asked, and Prompto nodded before smiling at him and ruffling his hair, just as Cor had done to him earlier.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he said, while Talcott tried to push his hair back in place in a way reminiscent to Prompto as a child.  Prompto couldn’t help but chuckle at the image, eyes looking over at Night who had a similar amused look on his face.  Prompto suddenly wondered about Night’s family, and if he also had a father that had done the same for him, but before he could ask Night had changed the subject, asking Talcott about his studies as was usual.  Prompto shrugged and figured he could ask about it at another time.  They enjoyed the rest of the evening together, and Prompto found that he didn’t mind that they felt like their own little family.


	10. A Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night reveals that he's gone out on a date, which Prompto inexplicably feels jealous about.

It’s another quiet day at the Castle.  Night had swept out rather early for him, hair a platinum blond that looked more red/orange as the light caught it, almost reminding Prompto of Gladio’s light.  It was more styled than usual as well, and Prompto had noted that his dark clothes had gold trim today.  “What’s with him?” he had asked Gladio, and the fire daemon had merely shrugged.

“It’s probably bad news, whatever it is,” he grunted, eyes narrowing at where Night had disappeared out the door.

He and Talcott spent the morning together, Prompto watching Talcott as he studied, and Talcott sneakily attempting to teach him some of the principles of magic he was currently learning.  Prompto had quickly caught onto him, but he didn’t call Talcott out on it since he thought the boy was sweet for doing so.  Eventually, however, Talcott grew tired of studying and decided to take a break for their lunch.  As they both chatted over sandwiches and fruit, Prompto soon picked up on something that he found incredibly endearing about the boy.  He had mentioned going into town in Insomnia, bringing up a name that Prompto had heard from him here and there during their conversations.  Only this time when Talcott said the name, he blushed.

“You must tell me more about Iris,” Prompto said eagerly the moment he spotted it, and he grinned as the boy suddenly looked shy.

“Why do you want to hear about her?” he asked, setting his sandwich down on his plate.  Prompto’s eyes twinkled.

“I dunno, you’ve mentioned her a few times now.  I just wanted to find out more about this mysterious girl.”  Behind him, Gladio chortled at his comment, and Prompto turned to make a shushing motion at him when Talcott wasn’t looking.  The boy looked lost in thought for a moment.

“Well,” he started.  “She’s this really nice girl in town.  She always leads all the kids who are playing around where Monica’s shop is.”  That meant it was in the high end district close to the Citadel; more than likely Iris came from a family of some importance.  Talcott sometimes went to play with them when he was taking a break from studying.  “Oh, let me show you something!” Talcott said, excitedly bounding upstairs.  He came down several minutes later holding a large stuffed doll.  He thrust it at Prompto.

“This is a Moogle,” he explained.  “Iris gave it to me when I passed my first exam from Night.  She said it was to congratulate my hard work.”  Prompto picked it up and eyed the stitching on it, impressed by how well it was made.

“She did a beautiful job,” he said.  “Her craftsmanship is really good!”

“I’ll have to let her know,” Talcott said, blushing and looking excited at the idea.  Prompto grinned at him, having to refrain from ruffling his hair again.  Talcott having a crush was way too cute.  Their meal was then interrupted by the arrival of the wandering wizard.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Night said as he casually draped himself on the chair opposite of Prompto.  He spotted Talcott’s Moogle and grinned.  “Was Talcott telling you about his little girlfriend?” he teased, and Talcott frowned at him.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said defensively, while clutching the Moogle.

“Don’t tease him,” Prompto lightly admonished.  “What had you up and about so early this morning?”

“A date,” Night said with a wide grin.  Prompto’s face involuntarily fell as he found himself staring at Night, his mind suddenly faltering at his words.

Talcott, meanwhile, looked pained while he heard Gladio mutter in disdain, “I knew it,” behind him.

“A date huh,” Prompto said, trying his best to look excited for him.  Even though he fell abysmally short, Night seemed to be in too high spirits to care.

“Yeah, his name’s Loqi.  He’s blond just like you,” Night said casually, and Prompto felt his heart plummet even further.  Jealously crept up in his head, especially at Night’s words “just like you” while knowing whoever this Loqi was, he wasn’t like him since he was probably young and attractive.  The blond comment seemed to jab at him, especially, since he was starting to forget what he looked like normally.  The worst part was he didn’t know why he felt so upset; it’s not like he was interested in the shallow and carefree Night anyway.  Maybe it was just his shock that he had still been convinced Night liked women in spite of his sister’s actions and now realized that wasn’t the case.

Talcott, meanwhile, broke the tension with his complaining.  “How long are you planning on seeing this one?” he demanded.  “You better not throw a tantrum when he eventually dumps you.”

Night chuckled.  “Oh, I seriously doubt that’ll be what happens,” he said confidently, and Talcott shook his head.

“It’s always what happens,” Gladio spoke up.  “No one wants to date a guy without a heart after all.”

Night waved his hand dismissively before turning to Prompto.  “You’ll support me, right?” he asked hopefully, and Prompto had to plaster a smile on his face.

“Of course.  As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters, right?” he chuckled painfully.

“Now this is a good man.  You should follow his example,” Night lazily smiled, and Talcott frowned at him.

“I already do,” he pointed out.  “He always says that you’re a bad role model,” he added.

Night clutched at his chest before pouting at Prompto.  “That’s harsh,” he said, and Prompto felt his heart leap in an odd way at Night’s expression.  Something about those brilliant blue eyes staring at him in such a needy way was doing odd things to his chest.

“It’s the truth,” he said, trying to ignore those nagging feelings and returning his focus to his lunch.  Gladio laughed while Talcott giggled, although he noted an odd look cross Night’s face as he looked at his cursed companion.  He frowned slightly, before hiding it by enthusiastically standing up. 

“Since I’m up so early, I’ll go ahead and use this time to get some more merchandise prepared for this afternoon,” he decided.  “How did your studies go?” he asked Talcott.

“Good!  I showed Prompto the basic principles of magic so you should definitely teach him something!” Talcott replied, and Prompto sputtered in surprise.

“Hey, I didn’t say you could tell him that,” he said, suddenly self-conscious.  He didn’t notice the warm way Night looked at him.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.  Make sure you set a date for our first lesson,” he said before bounding up the stairs.  Prompto sighed and shook his head, looking over at his betrayer who was smiling happily at him.

“I’m so excited for you to learn magic too,” Talcott said.  “Then we can study together!”

“Yeah, I’m with the kid.  I think it’s a good idea,” Gladio added, and Prompto threw up his hands.

“I guess my personal opinion doesn’t matter then,” he said, albeit in a good natured way.  “I suppose you win,” he conceded, and Talcott cheered.  They then finished eating up, with Talcott gearing up to watch the shop outside while Prompto began taking mental stock of what he’d need for dinner that evening.  He tried his best not to think about Night and his new beau Loqi.


	11. Tensions in Tenebrae

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talcott and Prompto have a discussion about tensions between Lucis and Niflheim.

Prompto and Talcott were out in front of the castle in the Wastes, working on washing laundry under the protection of the sunlight peaking through the fog.  It had reduced the normal thick fog to a barely perceptible haze that made it the perfect time to get the laundry knocked out.  To Prompto’s delight, his scarecrow friend had returned, and was helping by having the laundry line tied to it so it could move to catch the best light as the sun moved across the sky.  Talcott was fascinated by the scarecrow, and he kept shooting guesses to Prompto about what kind of curse was on the strange being.  “The curse definitely contains daemon magic,” Talcott explained.  “The scarecrow keeps staying a certain distance away from the castle because of its magical barrier.”

“It’s really pretty though,” Prompto replied.  “I had never seen Sylleblossoms in person before.”

“Oh yeah, me either!  I think Night has though.  He said he’s been to Tenebrae,” Talcott commented.  Prompto tilted his head at that bit of information.

“I wonder how, with how tensions with Niflheim are,” Prompto muttered to himself.  It was very surprising to him that Night would have managed to visit Tenebrae which had fallen under the umbrella of Niflheim many years ago.  Most people didn’t travel outside of Lucis or Altissia due to tensions being so high, especially in recent months with the princess of Tenebrae and the prince of Lucis missing.  Both Lucis and Niflheim really seemed to be ramping up for war, both blaming each other over the missing princess especially.  Lucis had been pretty silent over the issue of their missing prince which had led Niflheim to believe he had run off with the princess, thus making Lucis at fault.  Lucis, on the other hand, insisted they had nothing to do with her missing and seemed pretty certain Niflheim had done something instead.  A lot of people thought they had both run off together since they were well known to be friendly with one another, but that theory had never sat well with Prompto since Lucis’s reaction to the prince being missing was so different from the princess of Tenebrae.  It definitely felt like her disappearance was unexpected and unrelated.

Prompto shook his head, trying not to think about politics which had always seemed especially foreign in Hammerhead where he grew up.  His small town was so far removed from the sight of the capitol that people weren’t as invested in the goings on of the royal family; whatever happened in Insomnia often had little bearing on their lives.  War was admittedly scary to think about though.  “Hey, Prompto, are you alright?” Talcott asked curiously, breaking the thoughts whirling through the silver haired man’s head.

Prompto let out a sigh.  “Sorry, Talc, just…thinking about some things.”

“Like what?” Talcott asked curiously, and Prompto hesitated.  He wasn’t sure if he should talk to the boy about such a heavy topic, but also wasn’t fond of hiding things from kids since his father hadn’t raised him that way.

“Do you know about the missing princess of Tenebrae?” he asked hesitantly, and Talcott nodded.

“Yeah, I asked Night about it once and he looked kind of sad so I didn’t say anything else,” he said.  “I see it in the news sometimes though.”

“Do you…have any questions for me?” Prompto asked, and was surprised by the hopeful look Talcott gave him.  It was obvious he didn’t often get this opportunity.

“Will you really answer them?” he asked hesitantly, and Prompto nodded.  Talcott then leaned closer and began to ask some things about the war and about Tenebrae that he hadn’t understood and had on his mind, specifically why Lucis and Niflheim were fighting and why Tenebrae was considered part of Niflheim when it was its own country.

Prompto patiently answered all of his questions, internally wondering why Night seemed so flighty on the topic when in other ways he didn’t seem to have an issue answering Talcott’s questions when it came to magic or other adult topics.  He hadn’t noticed Night appear cagey about the Royal Family, since he seemed so flippant about ignoring their summons, but if he really did avoid discussing the topics with Talcott he may start paying more attention.  Prompto also noticed that as he discussed the political situation, the scarecrow seemed to inch closer like it was listening too.  He found it odd, but since the scarecrow reacted to things he said, he knew it could understand him and figured it didn’t get a lot of opportunities to hear about the news in the Wastes.

“I hope the princess is ok,” Talcott finally said once Prompto was finished explaining.  He looked kind of sad.  “It sounds like the Royal Family probably knows where the prince is though.”

Prompto raised an eyebrow.  “You think?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t they be looking for him if they didn’t?” Talcott asked, and Prompto mulled it over.  Talcott did have a point – he was a pretty sharp kid after all.

“You’re probably right.  Everyone seems to be looking for Lady Lunafreya, but I haven’t seen much about anyone looking for Prince Noctis,” Prompto mused.  “Heck, I can’t even remember what the guy looks like.  Her picture has been in every newspaper since she disappeared, but it’s like his vanished after he went missing.”

“I can’t remember either,” Talcott confessed.  “It’s actually the first thing I asked Night about because I thought it could be a spell, but he didn’t seem to want to talk about it.”

“Really?  That’s strange.  It seems the kind of thing he’d usually get excited about,” Prompto mused.  “I’m sure he has his reasons though.”

Talcott shrugged before saying, “Thank you for answering my questions though!”  He seemed pretty happy about it, and Prompto couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle his hair.  “I’m going to get us some tea,” Talcott decided, bounding inside while Prompto pulled out his sketchbook and pencils.  Since there was good lighting for a change, he figured he’d draw for a bit while they waited on clothes to dry.  Prompto began sketching the scarecrow, who had moved a bit farther away again and was standing in a particularly good patch of light that allowed him to focus on the details on its flowers.  He was so engrossed, in fact, that he didn’t notice when Talcott returned and set his tea next to him.  Thus, he was startled when the boy suddenly leaned over his shoulder and said, “Wow, that looks really good!”

Prompto blushed.  “Thanks, Talc,” he said as he continued to work.  Talcott sat next to him, sipping his tea and chatting with him while he watched Prompto work.  Prompto couldn’t help but continue to ponder over Talcott’s words about Night’s reactions to his questions though, especially the revelation Night had been to Tenebrae before.  ‘Just who is Night?’ he found himself wondering yet again.


	12. Magic Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto gets his first magic lesson from Night.

A few days later, Night returned home just as Prompto was finished with dinner.  He was ladling stew he had simmering all afternoon into bowls and was bringing it to the table to eat with some slices of bread.  When he set Night’s bowl in front of him, he watched in amusement as he wrinkled his nose.  “How was your day?” Prompto asked politely as he watched Night stare down at his bowl, obviously trying to calculate how he would eat around the stewed vegetables that Prompto had carefully chopped to make them small and difficult to eat around.  The pieces of meat and potato were also very small so he couldn’t try to pick them out instead.

Night gave him a baleful look as he picked up his spoon and took a bite, trying to look as pained as possible in the process.  Both Prompto and Talcott started laughing at his expression, while the wizard looked indignant.  “I’ll remember this,” he promised darkly, and Prompto snorted. 

“Your vitamin depraved body will thank me later,” he joked, before taking his own bite of stew and grinning at the taste.  Aranea was actually the one that had taught him this recipe, adapting it from her memories of a child.  She always said it was a taste of their original home, and she would tell the curious boy stories about where they came from as she cooked it and other childhood recipes.  She would always say there were a lot of problems with Niflheim, but it hadn’t always been such a bad place.

“This is really good!” Talcott chirped as he sopped up some of the stew with a piece of bread.  “I’ve never had stew like this before.”

Prompto blushed, looking down at it and hesitating.  He wasn’t sure if he should bring up the dish’s origins or not.  To his surprise, Night spoke for him.  “This dish is northern in origin – I think I had it once in Gralea before the border was basically shut down,” he commented.  Prompto looked up at him in surprise, raising an eyebrow.  When Night looked away, he decided not to push things any further.  This was yet again another surprising bit of news from the wizard – he had apparently extensively traveled in the past.

“Is it really?” Talcott asked, looking at Prompto.  He only looked curious, much to his relief.  “How do you know a Niflheim recipe?”

“My sister Aranea and I are refugees from Niflheim,” Prompto admitted.  “My dad rescued us and adopted us as kids.  We were basically war orphans.”  He pushed his spoon around in his bowl as he spoke.  “Aranea learned some recipes based on what she remembered and taught them to me growing up.  She said she wanted me to have a piece of my heritage even though I don’t really remember anything from there.  I was too young.”

“Well, it’s really good,” Talcott said, and Prompto looked up at him in surprise.  A few kids when he was younger had figured out his origins based on what he looked like, and he would often get teased for being a Nif…that was until Aranea or Cindy found out about it and put a stop to it.  No one ever dared say anything to either of them.

Night took another bite and said, “I mean if it didn’t have veggies it would be good.”  He shot Prompto a smirk, and the cursed man felt himself blush at the mischievous look on his face.

“Thanks,” he said softly, touched by their reaction. 

“I better get some of the leftovers,” Gladio complained behind them, and Prompto laughed. 

“I’ll make sure you get to try it too,” he promised.  He noticed that Night had carefully avoided his question about what he had been up to that day, and wondered if he was trying to spare his feelings about another date with Loqi.  After the first day, he had refrained from talking a lot about his relationship.  Prompto was torn about it, because part of him wanted to hear how it was going, while the other part was glad Night didn’t talk about it.  He took another bite of stew, surprised when Night spoke up again.

“Tonight you’re going to have your first lesson,” he commented, and Prompto blinked in surprise.  “You never set a date, so I decided tonight would be a good place to start.”

“But…” Prompto started to say, suddenly feeling nervous.

“But what?  Surely you can take a break from cleaning for one evening.  I’m not even sure how you still manage to find things to clean – this place has been spotless for weeks,” Night commented, and Prompto rolled his eyes.

“That’s not how it works, and you know it.  It’s only spotless because I do clean every day,” he huffed.  “And I don’t usually clean after dinner anyway.”  Talcott usually did the dishes for him, and he’d pull out a sketchbook to work on while he, Talcott, and Gladio talked.  Often after dinner Night went out again or up into his room.  Night’s eyes sparkled at him in amusement, and Prompto rolled his eyes.

“Fine, I guess you can have our first lesson tonight,” he muttered, and Night pumped his fist into the air victoriously.  Talcott also looked pleased, and Prompto knew that if he turned to look at Gladio the fire daemon was probably looking pretty smug as well.  He had been complaining the past few days about Prompto’s lack of progress in his contract with the wizard.  It was hard, though, to figure anything out when Night was hardly ever around.

Once Prompto had given Gladio some bits of the stew to try, he left the rest to continue to simmer overnight for their breakfast in the morning, and Talcott got to work on the dishes.  Night, meanwhile, pulled out a book and a few trinkets in order to get them started.  “I know Talcott’s been teaching you some of the basics,” he said.  “So I want to test to see what kinds of magic you have aptitude in.”  As Night began to walk him through each of the tests, Prompto began to regret agreeing to allow Night to teach him.

While Prompto understood the basics Talcott told him in theory, he had trouble following along with Night’s directions, and he soon grew frustrated along with his teacher who didn’t understand why he was having such a difficult time.  Each step of the way they found themselves in a bickering match, and Prompto was soon ready to give up.  He was pretty convinced that Night and Talcott where wrong, and that just as he thought there wasn’t anything special about him after all.  Prompto stubbornly set down the toy Night was trying to get him to spin without cranking the pinwheel mechanism and crossed his arms.  “Listen, I think this just proves that I really don’t have magic,” he said.  “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

To his surprise, Night suddenly got a stubborn set in his shoulders and stared him back down.  “You do have magic,” he insisted, before taking a deep breath and pushing aside the toys.  “I’m just going about this the wrong way.  What works for me and Talcott may not work with you,” he mused.  His eyes wandered around the room until they spotted the small basket of clothes that Prompto had been planning on mending that night.  Then, an idea popped into his head.

“You made hats before, right?” he asked.  Prompto nodded.  “I remember in Hammerhead people saying your hats were lucky,” Night muttered under his breath and Prompto’s eyebrows furrowed.  Had Night been asking about him after they met?  “Do you have any of them with you?”

“I mean, just my own.  It’s nothing fancy,” Prompto commented.  He went to grab it and handed it to Night, who carefully turned it in his hands.

“This isn’t going to work,” he said with a frown.  “You must not have imbued it with magic because it was your own.”

“I don’t understand,” Prompto said with a sigh, and Night drummed his fingers on the table for a moment as he thought.  Suddenly an idea came to him.

“I want you to sew me something,” Night said.  “It’s gotta be something simple though…”

“I can embroider a handkerchief.  A basic design wouldn’t take me too long,” Prompto recommended.  Night disappeared upstairs and came down with a plain one.  The only thing it had on it in the corner was an insignia of a stylized skull that looked familiar to Prompto but he couldn’t quite place it. 

“When you do your embroidery, I want you to think about me,” Night explained.  When Prompto gave him a blank look, he chuckled.  “Just give it a try.”  He had calmed down and was being more patient now that he was coming up with a different approach to help teach Prompto.  It felt strange, and Prompto began to suspect that this was the side of Night that came out when he was teaching Talcott.  Prompto used to have doubts over whether or not Night was a decent teacher, but he was now starting to lay those to rest.  As he began to embroider a design, deciding to do small feather designs looking like they were fluttering around the skull which had wings coming out of it, he felt his mind wander.  He thought back to all of the facets and mysteries of the wizard, from his lazy and childish side, to the things he wouldn’t talk about, to the things that surprised him such as his patience in teaching and drive to get Prompto to learn magic. 

At first he was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice anything particularly special, but after a few moments Night caught his attention and had him look at what he was doing.  Prompto’s eyes widened.  He saw golden light weaving itself throughout all of his threads, causing the black stitches to gleam with a golden light.  “I did that?” he asked, and Night nodded, eyes warm as he took the cloth from his hands and inspected his work.

“This is very powerful magic,” Night commented as he ran his fingers along the stitches.  “I can feel your feelings embedded into the cloth.”  He was blushing slightly as he said it, and Prompto suddenly felt embarrassed.  He hoped Night couldn’t sense _all_ of his feelings, or else he wouldn’t know how to face him.  It’s not like someone like him would be interested in someone cursed to look like an old man.

“That’s great and all, but does it actually do anything?” Prompto asked.

“Oh, it does a lot,” Night replied.  “This is basically like a protective ward, very similar to a lot of the trinkets I have scattered throughout the castle.”  As Night inspected the handkerchief, Prompto noticed that his eyes had changed from the usual blue to an almost red magenta color.  He realized that it must be related to him using magic to identify the spells in Prompto’s handiwork.  It made the wizard look even more stunning, especially now that Prompto realized he could sense the crackling of power underneath the surface as he concentrated on his magic.  Night was truly a powerful wizard if the energy Prompto was feeling was anything to go by.

‘Has his eyes been changing color this whole time?’ Prompto pondered, for when Night had used magic in front of him before he hadn’t really paid attention, before then wondering if his own eyes changed color. 

“This is actually a surprisingly powerful spell for someone without any training,” Night continued to muse.  “If you could learn to hone your abilities, you’d be a pretty terrifying wizard yourself.”

Prompto blushed.  “I highly doubt that,” he scoffed.  “I don’t think I can beat anyone in a fight through sewing.”

“Magic isn’t just valued in its offensive ability.  Defense and subterfuge are just as important,” Night replied.  “Besides I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been influencing more than just things you’ve sewn.  It seems your thoughts are what drive the magic.  I myself wouldn’t be able to do a spell like this without a complicated formula.”  His fingers were still gently running over Prompto’s embroidery work, and Prompto watched as his eyes faded back to their usual midnight blue.  “I’m definitely going to have to come up with a regimen to help you learn how to tap into your abilities,” he mused.  His eyes had lit up over the puzzle Prompto was providing him, and the silver haired man couldn’t help but feel a little proud that he had awoken such excitement in the wizard.

“So are we done for today?” he asked hopefully, and Night rolled his eyes.

“Was it really that difficult on you?” he asked, a slight pout in his expression.  Prompto thought for a moment and shook his head.

“At first, yeah, but it wasn’t so bad toward the end, I guess,” Prompto admitted.  Night looked pretty pleased by that, then ran his hand through his hair.  It was still blond, but not quite as bright as it had been the other day.

“I should probably switch this up for tomorrow,” he mused.

“Why, have another date?” Prompto asked, trying to keep his voice light as he carefully watched Night.

“How’d you guess that?” he asked, and Prompto rolled his eyes.

“I wonder why?” he muttered under his breath.  “I mean last time you dyed your hair it was before a date too.”

Night smiled guiltily.  “I guess you’re right,” he mused.  “Well the day I don’t try to make myself handsome for a man, is the day I’ll truly be in love,” he added jokingly.

“You need a heart for that,” Gladio said sarcastically.  He had been watching their exchange in amusement, especially during the bickering portion, while Talcott had gone upstairs to get away from it once he had finished with the dishes.

“Shut up, Gladio,” Night grumbled, before making his way upstairs.  Prompto decided to tidy up a little before bed, needing something to distract his mind from Night’s date the next day and especially from how powerful and attractive he had looked using magic. 

‘I just need to get over it,’ Prompto decided with a sigh.  It seems that initial attraction he had for the man the moment he first turned his attention on him had never quite left, even after meeting him and realizing how annoying he could be.  Prompto bit his lip, looking in the mirror Night had set up downstairs for him just to remember the fact he was still an old man.  He had gotten more used to his body and was on most days more limber than he had been when the spell was first cast on him, but at the end of day his appearance is what everyone else was going to see.  Prompto frowned at himself, tugging at his silver hair before crawling into bed, curling up under the covers with his back turned to Gladio’s warm light.  He should just focus on breaking that contract between Night and Gladio so he could get his youth back and move on with his life.  That would be best for everyone, he decided.  As he closed his eyes, he tried to ignore the ache he felt deep in his heart at the thought.


	13. The Summons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night is finally forced to respond to a summons by the king. But, he has a plan up his sleeve.

The next morning, Prompto ended up alone since Talcott headed out to do errands and visit with Iris, while Night worked on dying his hair a deep vermillion that faded to black at the tips before heading out the door for his date.  Prompto let out a deep sigh, plopping himself in his usual spot by Gladio, feeling more achy than usual and really allowing the loneliness to hit him after last night.  He didn’t have his usual energy to clean, even though it was the perfect opportunity with no one else at the castle.  “What’s up with you?” Gladio asked brusquely, although by now Prompto had picked up he used the tone to mask his concern.

“Just feeling lonely,” Prompto replied, crossing his arms across his chest as he stared up at the ceiling.  “I used to feel like this at the hat shop all the time,” he admitted, “once my family moved out and it was just me.  Haven’t really felt like that in awhile though…”  Prompto figured he should at least be somewhat productive, however, and he eventually forced himself out of his chair and wandered over to his bag to pull out his sketchbook and pencils.  His sketchbook was getting full with his pencils pretty worn down by this point, and he knew he would have to go out soon to get fresh supplies.  But, there was still enough to make due and he turned his book to a fresh page before picking up his favorite pencil that he always used for the initial sketch.  It was somehow soothing, falling back into his old hobby, and it reminded him of nights spent in his old home alone and drawing when not working on a new hat.  The only difference really was he had the fire daemon watching him silently as he worked, always showing interest when he sketched even if he pretended otherwise.

Prompto tapped the end of the pencil against his mouth before an idea came to him.  There was one person in particular he had yet to draw, and Prompto saw this as the perfect opportunity without Talcott or the man in question looking over his shoulder.  As he began his sketch, he felt his mind wander to the first time he had spotted the man in the alleyway, hair an obnoxious mix of blue, purple, and pink and that confident expression on his face.  He remembered the spark he had felt when Night had pulled close to him, the excitement when they had walked on air.  All of those feelings made their way into the drawing, Prompto wondering if maybe he just drew them all into the sketch he’d finally let them go.  When he was finally done, he stared down at it in amazement, blushing as he gazed at the enigmatic wizard staring back at him with a rare warm grin.  “What’s got you all flustered, old man?” Gladio asked, and Prompto bristled slightly at the nickname before staring back down at the drawing.

“Let me finish shading first,” he said, pulling out his medium pencil to get started.  After about an hour he had finally finished, and he was admittedly pretty pleased with the results.  He just hoped Night never saw it, knowing the wizard didn’t need another ego boost.  He was also worried that it portrayed too many of his feelings, thinking back to how he had embedded them into the embroidery the night before.  Prompto shyly turned the sketchbook around to show Gladio who whistled appreciatively.

“I mean, I think the drawings you did of me and of the kid look better,” Gladio said, obviously not wanting to compliment Night as well.  “But it looks like magic isn’t your only gift.”

Prompto blushed at the honest compliment before putting the sketchbook away.  “Thanks,” he grinned.  He was then interrupted by a knock at the door.

“It’s from Insomnia,” Gladio commented as Prompto made his way over to the door, wincing at how stiff he was from sitting for so long.

This time when he opened up, he was surprised to see a member of the Kingsglaive at the door.  Usually in Insomnia it was the Crownsguard who showed up to hand out the Royal summons.  This time it was a woman with dark hair pulled up into a messy ponytail.  She was tapping the summons onto her opposite hand as she waited at the door.  “The Wizard Nox home?” she asked, a bored expression on her face.  It was obvious she wasn’t too thrilled about being sent on errand duty.

“Unfortunately he is out running errands,” Prompto replied, a polite smile on his face.  He watched her eyes drift toward the door, as if she didn’t believe him, and an irritated look momentarily crossed her face.  She tapped the summons against her hand again before looking back at him.

“I’m supposed to hand this directly to him,” she said, keeping her voice even.  Her eyes were flashing slightly though and Prompto could sense the magic thrumming under her skin.  That interested him, but he knew now was not the time to ask her about it.

“He’s really not home,” Prompto said with a sigh.  “I promise I will make him read it though.”  He gave her his best welcoming grin, and he watched as some of her irritation faded.

“You look really similar to someone my friend talked to me about,” she said, tilting her head to the side as she glanced at him.  “He was peddling wares for some wizard in Lestallum.”  Prompto felt slightly nervous.

“Oh?  Is it because I’m old?” he chuckled, and she shook her head.

“I would never be that rude,” she huffed.  “Libertus mentioned he was surprised by the trinkets they were selling though – the motion sickness potion worked really well he said…I need to make my way over there to check it out.”  Prompto began to feel even more nervous as he suddenly remembered his previous interaction. 

‘So this must be Crowe,’ he realized.  The Kingsglaive Libertus had mentioned a friend who would have been interested in the magical wares after all.

“Do you know the name of the shop?  Perhaps my master may be interested in visiting one day himself,” Prompto commented politely.

“Some weird name.  Carp maybe?” she said with a shrug.  “He’d know.”  She then handed Prompto the summons and stared him straight in the eye.  “Make good on your promise,” she said.  “I’m only doing this because I can tell you’re trustworthy.” 

“Of course,” Prompto nodded.  ‘What he does with it afterward I have no control over,’ he thought with a grimace.  “Have a nice day!”

Crowe waved at him before heading off, meeting up with another Kingsglaive who was waiting for her up the street.  He looked vaguely familiar with his hair shaved at the sides and longer down the back, like someone he had seen in the news before.  Prompto shrugged before stepping back inside, looking at the summons curiously before heading upstairs to set it on the table.  “Why don’t you just feed that to me now and save yourself the trouble?” Gladio asked, eyeing the envelope eagerly, and Prompto rolled his eyes.

“I made a promise,” he said simply, and he watched as the fire daemon rolled his eyes back.

“A waste of time if you ask me,” he muttered, and Prompto laughed.  Prompto then began organizing the living area in order to get at least a little work done that day before getting started on dinner since they had finished the stew for breakfast that morning.  Right when he was almost finished with the Garula steak and Leiden potatoes, Talcott finally arrived home, beaming after hours spent with his crush.  Prompto smiled to himself as Talcott sat down at the table and eagerly began telling him stories about his day.  Just as Prompto was setting the food on the table, Night arrived back home as well, taking his seat and immediately placing the steak and potatoes on his plate while ignoring the salad Prompto had set out as well.  He noticed the summons and wrinkled his nose, but before he could toss it at Gladio, Prompto deftly picked it up.

“I promised you would read it this time,” he said, quickly opening it up and handing it to Night.  Night stared at him blankly for several seconds before glancing down at the letter.  He then chuckled before taking it into his hands.  “Did you fireproof this?” he asked, and Prompto tilted his head in confusion.

“No?” he said.  “Not that I know of.  A mage was the one who delivered it though.  She was part of the Kingsglaive.”

Night shook his head before glancing over the letter.  “Looks like Iggy’s stepping up his game,” he muttered to himself.  His eyes suddenly narrowed, however, and he then reached for the envelope and turned it around to look at the seal.  He let out a tch sound before setting the envelope on the table and leaning back in his chair.  “No wonder they put a spell on it,” he grumbled.

“What’s going on?” Prompto asked.  Talcott was also looking over at him curiously as he took a bite of his steak.

“This is a royal summons directly from the king,” Night replied, glancing down at the page again.  “Which is a little bit harder to ignore.”  His eyes narrowed as he stared down at the sheet.

“The king is summoning you?” Prompto asked in astonishment.  He couldn’t imagine someone like Night being important enough to be summoned directly by the king.

“Yeah,” Night said, before looking over at Prompto thoughtfully.  A slow grin suddenly spread across his face, and Prompto felt a pit form in his stomach.

“Whatever you’re thinking, the answer is no,” he said firmly.

“Hear me out,” Night said.  “You go in my place as my representative.  Maybe if I send someone to show I’ve gotten their message but am declining their summons they’ll stop bothering me.”

“What if I get thrown in jail?” Prompto asked in dismay.  “Can you imagine a frail old man starving to death in the cold dungeons of the Citadel?”

Night let out a laugh, causing Prompto to frown at him.  “That’s not funny,” Talcott pointed out, also showing concern at the idea.

“You’re far from frail,” Night replied.  “Also, the King’s not like that.  Trust me, you’ll be safe at the Citadel.  More than likely you’ll only have to talk to Ignis anyway.”

Prompto sighed in frustration.  “What if I refuse?” he asked, deliberately avoiding the wizard’s puppy dog eyes the moment he made his comment.  “Maybe you should act like an adult this time.  A summons from the king sounds pretty serious.”

“If I go they’d never let me leave,” Night replied.  Prompto found his gaze drawn back to the wizard at the sound of frustration in his voice.  Night noticed his stare and looked away in embarrassment.

“They’d really not let you go?” Prompto asked, and Night shook his head.  “But you promise they’d let me go?”

Night looked up at him.  “Yes.  Besides, if they tried to hold you there, I’d come get you.”  He stared Prompto in the eyes, midnight blue gazing steadfastly at him.

“Even if it means you’d be stuck instead?” Prompto asked in surprise.

Night leaned forward slightly.  “They’d have to catch us first,” he said, eyes glittering slightly.  “But if it came down to that, most definitely.”  Prompto felt his cheeks warm at the wizard’s words, before looking away and catching the look of astonishment on Talcott’s face. 

“I don’t want either of you to be taken away,” Talcott said, quietly looking down, and Prompto stood up and walked over, before kneeling down next to him. 

“I’ll just be sure to not get detained then, now won’t I?” he said cheerfully.  “But if Night goes, you may be out of a teacher, and we don’t want that to happen either.”

Talcott sniffled slightly before leaning forward and throwing his arms around him.  “If they tried to take you away, I’d get you out myself!” he said into Prompto’s shoulder, and he laughed before patting the boy’s head.

“I’m sure between you and Night you’d think of something,” he promised.

“So you’re going?” Night asked.

“You kind of don’t leave me much choice,” Prompto replied.  He was surprised when he was suddenly enveloped from behind in another hug.  His breath caught for a moment as he was surrounded by Night’s warmth and the rich smell of his cologne, and he watched as Night gently placed a hand on Talcott’s back as well.

“I promise I won’t let anything happen to him,” he told Talcott firmly, his voice close to Prompto’s ear.  He then pulled away.  Prompto found himself disappointed by the lack of warmth, and reluctantly pulled away from Talcott as well before shooting him a smile. 

“See, nothing to worry about!”

Talcott smiled back at him, looking pleased at his words.  “You’ll have to go in the morning though.  And this time you’ll let me magic some of your clothes to look a little nicer,” Night said. Before Prompto could protest, Night reminded him, “You are going to the Citadel after all.  And you’re representing me.”  Prompto sighed before rummaging through his bag and handing Night his other outfit.  “Looks like we need to get you some more clothes as well,” Night muttered under his breath before bringing Prompto’s clothes upstairs with him to work on.  Prompto rolled his eyes, noting that Night had only half eaten his food in the excitement of the conversation, and carefully stored it away before he and Talcott finished up their meal.  It looked like he was going to have a long day ahead of him.


	14. The Missing Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto goes to the Citadel on behalf of Night and finally meets Ignis.

Prompto stood at the bottom of the steps to the Citadel, staring up in awe at the towering structure while feeling incredibly uncomfortable in the clothes Night had magicked for him.  Prompto had only ever seen the Citadel from a distance so hadn’t been prepared for how looming in would feel in person; he had never been near a structure so tall before and definitely felt intimidated.  The clothes weren’t helping matters.  Night had shoved him in the bathroom that morning with his newly designed clothes, whisking away his other pair in the process so Prompto wouldn’t be able to wear it in protest.  The new clothes were…very loud.  And very young.  Prompto suspected if he were his normal age he may feel _slightly_ excited about wearing something so flashy, even if it was outside of his comfort zone, but with his silver hair and wrinkles he just felt embarrassed.  He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised by the outfit based on what he saw Night wear all the time, but the sleeveless jacket and tight fitting tank top was certainly not something he was used to (but it surprisingly did feel very comfortable to him).  The leopard pants he could have certainly done without, however.  He did like the new boots though and was surprised by how comfortable he felt wearing them, almost as if they were perfectly fitted to his feet.

Prompto began to realize the stares of the Crownsguard milling about in the courtyard, and he sheepishly started to make his way up the long flight of stairs to the main hall.  He was told at the front gate when he showed the summons to the guard that Ignis would be meeting him there.  Prompto had overheard their conversation and knew that the Chamberlain did not sound pleased by Night’s switcheroo. It had definitely made him feel uneasy, and images of a cold dungeon had flashed in his head, but he steeled himself and continued forward anyway.  Somehow the thought of Night being held against his will just bothered him far more than the worry for his own safety, and it honestly made him peeved that the Crown would detain a citizen like that anyway.  Night certainly had his faults, but he definitely deserved his freedom.  Prompto was actually planning on giving that Chamberlain a piece of his mind, especially if he had anything negative to say about the Wizard.

After a long walk up the steps that left him more than a little winded, Prompto spotted a man that he vaguely recognized from pictures in the news.  ‘That must be Ignis,’ he realized as he paused to catch his breath.  The man was standing with his arms crossed and was elegantly dressed in a well tailored suit with glasses perched on his face.  He appeared to be talking to one of the Crownsguard, and Prompto took the time to study him curiously.  Ignis certainly didn’t seem like his sister’s type – as far as he could tell Aranea generally went for someone a little more dangerous while not caring as much for the intellectual types – but he supposed once he talked to the man he may be able to get a better sense for him.  She certainly wouldn’t be interested in a pushover, but Prompto supposed that the Chamberlain’s diligence in sending Night summons proved that he at least was persistent, if not on the nagging side.

Ignis appeared to have noticed him, however, for he shot him a piercing stare, looking a bit curious as he tilted his head slightly and adjusted his glasses on his face.  He waved at the Crownsguard to send them away before stepping outside and clearing his throat.  “Are you the representative for the Wizard Night?” he asked, and Prompto nodded his head. 

“The name’s Prompto Argentum,” he said, bringing his hand forward, and he noticed Ignis freeze.  He seemed to catch himself, however, for he suddenly blinked and immediately shook his hand with a surprisingly firm grip.

“You wouldn’t happen to know a Miss Aranea Highwind, per chance?” Ignis asked, and Prompto noticed the slight flush on his cheeks.  He inwardly smiled, suddenly feeling more at ease.

“Yeah, she’s my older sister,” Prompto replied.  Ignis motioned him inside, holding the door open for him, and began leading him down the hall.

“May I ask what caused you to be in this state?” Ignis asked.  “I dare say I remember reading something in a letter, but I did not realize it was so severe.”

“I was cursed by the Wizard of the Waste,” Prompto replied, and Ignis raised an eyebrow.  Prompto heard him mutter something under his breath and thought he heard mention of the prince but couldn’t quite hear.

They suddenly stopped in front of one of the many doors lining the hall, and Ignis pulled out a key before sliding it into the keyhole and swiftly turning until a light click could be heard.  He pulled the door open for Prompto, politely allowing him to enter first before stepping in behind him.  They were in a small office that consisted of a desk covered in neat piles of paperwork, an overstuffed but well organized bookshelf, and two very comfortable looking leather chairs.  Prompto gingerly sat in the one obviously meant for guests while Ignis elegantly stepped around his desk before taking his own seat.  He folded his hands in front of him on the desk before regarding Prompto quietly for a moment.  Prompto silently looked back, trying his best not to fidget and honestly failing miserably, while realizing that Ignis was really pretty attractive with vibrant green eyes and light brown hair; although his hairstyle was a bit too proper, Prompto could imagine with his hair down he would be even more striking.  ‘Maybe I can see Aranea’s attraction,’ he thought, jumping slightly when Ignis finally spoke.

“So, the Crown Prince wouldn’t be bothered to show for his own summons, hm?” Ignis started, and Prompto stared at him in confusion.

“Who?” he asked, and Ignis chuckled to himself.

“I should have known he wouldn’t have told you,” he said.  “Well, since he could not be bothered to come on his own accord, I feel I must spoil the surprise.  The Wizard Night is none other than Noctis Lucis Caelum,” Ignis explained.  He was watching Prompto sharply to see how he took the news, and for a few moments the room was dead silent as Prompto considered his words.

“As in the missing prince?” Prompto asked quietly, and Ignis nodded.  He looked rather amused by Prompto’s reaction, and he could unfortunately see another reason why his sister probably liked the young man.

“Why…would the prince…?” Prompto started to ask, and Ignis let out a small huff.

“Our wayward prince decided he enjoyed magic more than the prospect of ruling and ran off.  His father, the doting man that he is, let him get away with it and helped cover it up.  As long as we are able to keep tabs on him and know he’s safe, he is pretty much free to do as he pleases.”  Ignis didn’t sound too happy about that, and Prompto couldn’t really blame him.  It really put Night’s brattiness in a new perspective as well; of course a prince would be a little bit selfish.  But…  Prompto considered his own situation until recently.  If Night – or Noctis – really did love magic, he couldn’t blame him for leaving and doing as he wished.

“So…why was Night, I mean, Noctis, I mean…” Prompto stumbled in his words, trying to figure out the best way to address the man.

Ignis chuckled.  “Noctis is just fine.  I am quite certain he would prefer you not refer to him by title,” he said, giving Prompto a small grin.  “In fact, do me a favor.  When you return, call him Noct.  I would love to hear of his reaction.”  He looked amused at the idea, and Prompto let out a light laugh.  Ignis was certainly growing on him.

“Alright, why was Noct summoned then?” he asked curiously.  “If you know where he is and what he’s doing?  He was afraid you would detain him here.”

Ignis let out a sight before leaning back in his chair.  “I suppose I cannot fault him for that.  The King had a proposition for him.  He wanted to ask in person, mainly because he misses his son.”  Prompto couldn’t help but feel himself warming up to the King as well.  He had never known very much about King Regis besides the swaying opinions of him in the news, but if he cared about his son this much, he couldn’t be a bad man.  “I suppose I should tell you so you can pass the message along,” Ignis mused.

Prompto leaned forward curiously while Ignis tapped his fingers on the desk as he gathered his thoughts.  “The King would like the Wizard Night to be the official wizard for the throne.  It would relieve Noct of his princely duty to the crown, and he would occasionally have work he would have to do as a wizard instead,” Ignis explained.  “That way Noct would be able to travel back to the Citadel more often without fear of being detained.”

“I’ll let him know,” Prompto promised.

Ignis tilted his head slightly.  “I am surprised he actually answered the summons this time.  I know the Glaive seemed confident it would happen, but I was still not expecting it.  I assume it must be your influence.”  He was watching Prompto thoughtfully, who blushed under his steady gaze.

“I mean, I made him read it at least,” Prompto replied.  “When he realized the summons was from the King I guess he couldn’t ignore it anymore.”

“Perhaps,” Ignis mused.  He then stood up.  “Would you care to stay for tea?”

Prompto stood up slowly, wincing as he did so.  Sitting for long periods of time was often hard on his joints.  Ignis watched in concern, but when Prompto didn’t ask for help he minded his pride and refrained from stepping in.  “I’m afraid I’ve got work to do back at the castle.  I’ll be sure to pass on the message to Aranea about Noct’s reaction though,” Prompto said with a wink.  At the mention of his sister’s name, Ignis blushed and looked surprisingly bashful.  Prompto found he didn’t mind the idea of the two of them together and thought they made a great match.

“I will be looking forward to it.  Also, you are free to visit the Citadel at any time,” Ignis explained.  “Maybe having a companion would encourage Noct to finally make a trip home as well.”

Prompto nodded and followed Ignis out the door, eagerly answering the man’s shy questions about how his sister was doing.  Once they parted ways at the stairs and Prompto made his descent down, all the while cursing his old knees, he couldn’t help but feel like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.  The meeting had gone much differently that how he had expected and while he wasn’t happy Noctis had hidden the truth from him, he could also kind of understand it and wasn’t holding too large of a grudge over it.  He couldn’t wait to see him and drop the bomb, however, and wondered if Noctis had considered the fact his Chamberlain would have blown his cover for him.  He was also curious to know more about the former prince, especially now that he realized he must have felt very similarly to himself growing up.  He realized he actually had something in common with the Wizard Night, who wasn’t quite as free spirited internally as he had always thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did [a commision](https://twitter.com/babs_bnn/status/1090386983875198976) from Barbara (formally Nai_Kasumi) on Twitter for Night's Moving Castle and she did a lovely job! Please check it out ^^


	15. The Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto returns to the castle to let Night know why he was summoned and that he knows his true identity.

When Prompto returned to the castle, he was surprised to see both Noctis and Talcott waiting anxiously for him, although the moment he stepped inside Noctis’s eyes peeled away from the door and he pretended to read a book on magic while Talcott jumped up from where he had been trying to study to rush downstairs to throw his arms around Prompto in a tight hug.  “You’re back!” he said excitedly, while Prompto chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Yeah, it was a very interesting trip,” he said, before glancing up at Noctis.  He could see the wizard prince’s gaze staring at him curiously from over the top of the book.  “I learned a lot,” Prompto said, staring Noctis in the eyes, whose brows furrowed.  He lowered his book.

“Did you talk to the King?” he asked, and Prompto shook his head.

“Just his retainer,” he replied.  “I can kind of see why my sister is so smitten with him.”  Noctis frowned at his words, and his eyes flashed as he folded his arms as Prompto headed up the stairs, Talcott by his side.

“What did he have to say?  Why was Night summoned?” Talcott asked curiously as they both took their usual seats at the table.

“Noct,” Prompto said, glancing at Noctis who suddenly dropped his book completely, “was summoned to the Citadel in order to offer him the position of being the Royal Wizard.”  He couldn’t help but smirk at the man’s flabbergasted expression, and he heard Gladio guffaw behind him.

“About time you found out,” the fire daemon snickered, while Talcott looked confused.

“Noct?  Who’s Noct?” he asked.  He then turned to Noctis.  “They’re offering you the position of being the Royal Wizard?  That’s so cool!”

Noctis had his head resting on his hands.  “I can’t believe Iggy,” he groaned.

Prompto shrugged, and leaned back in his chair.  “Are you going to answer Talc’s question?” he asked, and Noctis heaved a sigh.

“Noct is short for Noctis.  Which is my real name,” he explained.  It didn’t take long for Talcott to put two and two together. 

He gasped.  “Then…?”

Noctis nodded his head.  “I’m the good for nothing runaway prince,” he sighed, slumping in his chair.

Talcott’s reaction surprised him.  “You mean the crown prince is a wizard?  That’s so cool!” he said.  “And you’re training _me_?”  His eyes stared up at Noctis adoringly.

Noctis’s expression softened, and he reached forward to also ruffle Talcott’s hair.  The boy’s face scrunched up slightly as he pushed his bangs back down.  “Yeah.  You can’t tell anyone else, ok?  All they’re going to know is that the Wizard Night is taking up position as the crown’s new Royal Wizard.”

“I promise I won’t,” Talcott grinned at him.

“Me either,” Prompto added.  Noctis turned his dark blue eyes on him.

“I can’t believe you went along with Iggy like that,” he complained, and Prompto grinned.

“Serves you right for hiding who you were this whole time,” he replied lightly.

“I had my reasons,” Noctis replied, before frowning.  “But you’re right, I should have told you earlier.  I’m sorry about that.”

Prompto blinked in surprise, not expecting that answer.  “So, is there not already a Royal Wizard?” he asked curiously.  He had been surprised such an important position had been open.

Noctis was quiet for a moment.  “There hasn’t been.  Not since my dad kicked that guy out of Insomnia,” he replied, drumming his fingers on the table.  Both Talcott and Prompto looked curious, while Gladio’s fire seemed to dim slightly in anticipation to what Noctis was about to say.

Noctis looked up at Prompto.  “Your curse…is definitely my fault,” he admitted.  “And I haven’t really apologized for that yet.  And I haven’t even gotten any closer to figuring out how to break it.”  He sounded frustrated, but for some reason it warmed Prompto’s heart.  He was surprised his curse bothered Noctis and that he worried over it like that.  It meant, to some extent at least, he cared.  Then Noctis’s words dawned on Prompto.

“So, by “that guy” you mean…?” he asked, and Noctis nodded.

“The former Royal Wizard was the Wizard of the Waste.  Ardyn Izunia.  He was practicing some shady magic though and my father banished him from Insomnia and relieved him of his title.  He’s pretty much had a vendetta against my family ever since.”

“So why would he curse me then?” Prompto asked curiously, and Noctis blushed.

“He must have seen us together,” he mumbled, and Prompto tilted his head.

“Yeah, but we’d only just met?” he replied, and Noctis sighed.  He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration for a moment, while to Prompto’s surprise both Talcott and Gladio seemed amused.  None of them said anything though, and Prompto shook his head.

“Whatever the reason,” he said.  “It’s not really your fault.  That guy was a jerk.”  He remembered how much the man had creeped him out, and he honestly couldn’t blame the king from firing him.

Noctis looked up at him gratefully.  “Still.  I wish I’ve made more progress,” he sighed.  “It’s not your fault you ended up like this either.”  He thought for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.  “How about I get you something?” he asked.  “As a gift.  You really helped me out today after all.”  He looked oddly excited at the idea, and Prompto considered his words for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

“There’s nothing I really want though,” he said.  Noctis’s face faltered for a moment, until their conversation was interrupted by Gladio.

“Really?” he snorted.  “Because I could think of something.”

Prompto turned to give Gladio an incredulous look, while across from him Talcott suddenly stood up in excitement.  “I know!  Prompto’s art!” he said before rushing over to where Prompto’s sketchbook was sticking out from his bag.  Before Prompto’s mind could catch up with the turn of events, the book was placed in Noctis’s hands, and he had already curiously opened it up.  Prompto stared in dismay, suddenly remembering his most recent piece he had sketched out.  Behind him Gladio looked smug while Talcott beamed at him.  “He’s really good, right?” he asked brightly, as Noctis stared down at the first drawing in wonder.

“Yeah, he is,” he replied, before flipping to the next page.  Prompto felt helpless and glued to the chair as he watched Noctis carefully look at each drawing, taking the time to study it before moving onto the next.  “These are really good, in fact,” Noctis said, almost to himself.  Prompto mentally counted each page Noctis flipped through and knew the exact moment he reached the picture he had been dreading.  Talcott, who had been looking as well from next to Noctis, gasped in surprise.

“I hadn’t seen that one yet!” he said.  “I think it’s your best one yet!”  He smiled at Prompto, who looked sheepish and suddenly wished he could just melt into his chair and disappear.  Noctis stared at the picture for a long time, much longer than any of the others, and then flicked his gaze up to look at Prompto.  A shy smile suddenly graced his lips, and Prompto found himself blushing.

“They’re alright, I guess,” he said, and Noctis shook his head.  He carefully closed the sketchbook and gently placed it on the table.

“I know just the thing,” he said, staring Prompto in the eyes.  There was an odd, charged moment between them, and a definite change in the atmosphere.  Prompto didn’t know what to make of it, and while Noctis’s gaze was making his heart flutter unexpectedly, he found he couldn’t tear his eyes away.  “Also, your art is amazing.  I’m surprised you kept this from me,” he added.  Prompto couldn’t help but find the irony in the role reversal from earlier and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s just a hobby,” he replied.  “You really don’t have to get me anything though.”

Noctis shook his head.  “As I already said, I know just the thing,” he lazily grinned before standing up.  His eyes flicked to the grandfather clock in the room and he stretched.  “I have to get ready for my date though,” he said.  “Loqi does hate to be kept waiting.”  As he headed upstairs, Prompto suddenly felt as if all the excitement and energy that had just been coursing through the room suddenly died at once.  He stared down at the table for a moment, wondering why he felt a painful throbbing in his chest and a buzzing feeling in his veins.  He swiftly stood up, grabbing his sketchbook and tossing it back into his bag in annoyance, before letting out a loud huff.  Talcott looked up at him in surprise as he tore the vest that Noctis had given him from his shoulders, wishing he knew where his other clothes were so he could change before tossing it onto the bed.

“This place is looking pretty messy,” Prompto declared, going to grab the broom.  “You probably don’t want to be down here while I get it fixed up – it’s about to get pretty dusty,” he said.  His hands gripped the broom tightly, and Talcott nodded, eyes wide as he hurried up the stairs.  When Prompto was in one of his cleaning frenzies, it was best to stay out of his way.

“Is it dirty down here, or are you just mad about his royal brattiness’s date?” Gladio asked, and Prompto shot him a glare.

“I couldn’t care less about that,” he sniffed, before getting to work.  When Noctis came back downstairs, hair layered in vibrant colors like a sunset, he carefully skirted around the furiously cleaning man while shooting Gladio a questioning look.  Gladio just shook his head before hunkering down, also knowing better than to say anything more when the silver haired man was in one of his moods.  Noctis shot Prompto one more long look before heading out the door, and once it softly shut Prompto immediately returned to cleaning with a vengeance.  He tried to ignore the feeling he was starting to identify as jealousy eating away at him, especially now that he realized the wizard’s true lineage.  ‘Of course a prince wouldn’t be interested in an old man like me,’ Prompto thought as he began dusting.  Maybe if he cleaned hard enough, he could get rid of the bitter feelings in his heart.  Noctis had seemed sincerely interested in breaking his curse, though, so there was at least that.


	16. The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto receives a concerning letter that was meant for Night.

Several days later, it was a quiet day in the castle.  Prompto was reading a letter from Cindy where she was detailing a gorgeous older car she was in the process of restoring while demanding to know when Prompto would be by for a visit.  Noctis was out as usual while Talcott was off visiting with Iris and the other kids up the street in Insomnia.  Gladio was being quiet for a change in order to let him read, and Prompto wondered what it must be like for the proud fire daemon to be stuck in the hearth of the castle all of the time, especially when Noctis was out so often.  He could definitely understand why he was so keen to have his contract with the wizard broken.  Prompto had just finished reading and was preparing to write his responding letter when there was a knock at the door.  He stood up curiously, wondering if it was one of Noctis’s customers, until Gladio called, “The knock came from the Wastes.”  He sounded unsure about it, and Prompto couldn’t help but feel the same.  Who could possibly be calling on them from the Wastes?

Prompto stood up and made his way down the stairs, with Gladio calling, “Are you sure you want to answer that?”

Prompto shrugged his shoulders.  “I mean, Noctis has so many spells in place protecting the castle.  I’m sure I’ll be fine,” he replied.  He turned the knob to the Wastes and opened the door, surprised to see a child standing there.  The child had blond hair and freckles and looked oddly familiar to Prompto, but he couldn’t quite place why.  He leaned down until he was face to face with the boy who stared at him quietly and smiled reassuringly at him.

“Hey, what brings you way out here?” he asked, while seriously wondering what parent let their child wander into the Wastes of all places.

“I have a letter for the Wizard Night,” the child said, and Prompto’s brows raised.  While it was well known Night’s castle wandered the Wastes, most people didn’t know where it was or what it looked like and certainly didn’t go looking for it.  And he was so used to the people in Insomnia and Lestallum knowing Noctis by one of his alternative names that something about this seemed off.

“He’s not here right now, but I can certainly give it to him,” Prompto replied, offering his hand out.  The child placed the letter in his hands before staring at him with his indigo-violet eyes.  That’s the moment it clicked with Prompto.  While he had been chubbier as a child than this boy was, something about him eerily reminded him of himself.  The child’s eyes were blank and soulless, however, almost as if he was in a trance.  “Would you like to come in?” Prompto asked uncertainly, trying to hide his uneasiness.  The child slowly shook his head before beginning to back away.  “Do you need help finding your parents?” Prompto asked, starting to step outside, but the child continued to solemnly back away, slowly disappearing into the mists of the Wastes as he did so.  Then, it was almost as if the child disappeared, melting away into the fog.

Prompto couldn’t help but feel troubled by what happened, and he glanced down at the letter which was sealed by a symbol that was unfamiliar to him.  It was a skull, but looked different from the official crest of Insomnia.  He stepped back inside and closed the door, before walking back up to the kitchen table.  “What was that?” Gladio asked, and Prompto shook his head.

“Some kid with a letter for Noct,” he said, setting it on the table and staring at it.

To his surprise, Gladio let out a rumbling sound.  “That was no ordinary kid then,” he said.

“I know – what kid wanders around in the Wastes?” Prompto asked.  Gladio’s flames shook.

“No as in, that wasn’t a kid at all.  It was a golem,” he said.

“A what?” Prompto asked.

“A humanoid being made from clay and magic,” Gladio said.  “Probably so it could bypass the anti-daemon wards.  And that letter – I can feel the magic in the seal.  There’s one Wizard that’s well known for building golems and that magic definitely matches.  I don’t know how that guy found us…” he said, sounding concerned.  “Looks like I’ll have to move the castle again…”

“Wait,” Prompto said, before making a decision and tearing the letter open.

“What are you doing?” Gladio asked as Prompto’s eyes skimmed over the paper.  His eyes widened, and he suddenly leapt up, going to grab the elaborate jacket Noctis had created after modifying his old one.  It looked very similar to the ones he saw on the Kingsglaive in Lestallum, and would help him combat the chill of the Wastes.

“Ardyn’s captured that Loqi guy,” Prompto explained as he walked over to the table to quickly scratch out a note to Noctis and Talcott. 

“Yeah, so?” Gladio asked.  “I don’t see why that’s reason for you to throw on a jacket.”

“I’m going to save him,” Prompto said.

“You don’t even know where Ardyn is!” Gladio replied.  “Listen, this is a bad idea.  Just wait for Noct…”

Prompto shook his head.  “I can’t just wait for Noct.  What if something happens to Loqi?  He seems pretty serious about the guy and would be devastated,” Prompto replied.  “I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out – this note is like a summons, right?  So, I’m sure he’s going to make it easy to find him,” Prompto reasoned.

“Yeah, it _is_ like a summons.  Which is all the more reason you should wait on Noctis,” Gladio insisted.  “There’s a lot going on that you don’t know about…hey, wait!”

Prompto ignored him and grabbed his walking stick.  “When Noct gets here, have him read my letter,” he called, ignoring Gladio’s protests as he headed out the door.  His heart was racing as his mind played out the taunting tone of the letter.  Loqi was in trouble, and if someone didn’t do something soon, he may get hurt.  Prompto had never met him, and may be slightly jealous of him, but it didn’t mean the guy deserved whatever fate Ardyn had in store for him.  He just couldn’t wait around for Noctis to return – by then it may be too late.  But…it also didn’t mean he knew where he was going.  Ardyn was called the Wizard of the Wastes for a reason, but the Wastes were a pretty big area and it was easy enough to get lost in there.  Prompto had wandered a few feet away from the castle and had just been trying to figure out where to go when he was surprised when his old friend the Scarecrow suddenly hopped into view.

“Hey!” Prompto said, feeling relief.  “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

The Scarecrow seemed curious about seeing him out in the Wastes away from the castle and began to hop around him as if looking to see if there was anyone else with him.  “No Talcott today.  I actually have someplace I need to go.  Maybe you can help me?” he asked.  The Scarecrow tilted as if to indicate it was listening.  In the dim lightning of the Wastes it looked ethereal, almost ghostly with its jagged white dress and vibrant blue flowers.  Prompto didn’t know how the flowers seemed to continuously bloom with the lack of sunlight in the Wastes, but knew that the Scarecrow was obviously magic and figured it was somehow related.  “So, something came up and I _really_ need to find the Wizard of the Waste.”

To his surprise, the Scarecrow appeared to react strongly to his name, and began swaying almost as if telling him “No.”  Prompto shook his head.

“You don’t understand.  He’s captured someone really important to Night and if I don’t do something they’re probably going to get really hurt,” Prompto explained.  “I’ve gotta do something before that happens.  I’m not saying you have to come with me, but if you know where he is and can point me in the right direction?  Regardless, I’m going on my own anyway.  And you’ve somehow managed to survive with the daemons out here, so I’m sure you could help me avoid them too.”

Prompto gave the Scarecrow his best begging expression, and after a few moments it hesitantly began to hop toward the northwest.  It then turned as if to indicate for him to follow it.  Prompto grinned brightly and gratefully said, “Thank you!  You’re always such a help Scarecrow – I wish I knew how to help you out,” he sighed. 

The Scarecrow leaned forward, placing its head against Prompto’s almost like a forehead touch, before turning and hopping away.  Prompto began to follow it, nervously ignoring the sounds of the daemons popping up in the misty area surrounding them, and hoping he was right in thinking the Scarecrow could get him through without a daemon encounter.  He also hoped he wasn’t too late and could do something to save Loqi.


	17. Entrapment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto discovers the hideout of the Wizard of the Waste and tries to figure out how to get inside to find Loqi.

Prompto’s travels with the scarecrow took all of the morning and well into the afternoon to bring him to their destination.  Just as Prompto suspected, the daemons somehow seemed to stray away from the scarecrow, so as long as he stuck close by it he was fine.  The scarecrow must have had some sort of spell placed on it that repelled daemons, which allowed it to wander the Wastes as it did.  Prompto was surprised by the location when they reached the building that he assumed was occupied by the Wizard of the Waste.  It was right on the edge of the Wastes, along the shore, and actually had a view of Insomnia in the distance.  Prompto shook his head, wondering at a man that could be so hellbent on vengeance that he would literally antagonize himself by looking at the city he despised every day.  Prompto knew that if he had been in Ardyn’s shoes, he would have just gone as far away as possible so he never had to see it again; there were so many other places to see and explore in Eos that hiding in the Wastes and biding his time just seemed like a waste of energy.

Then again, Noctis also hid his castle in the Wastes even though he was hiding from the very man who lived there, so maybe there could also be something to be said about hiding in plain sight.  Prompto shrugged, before returning his gaze back to the odd looking structure.  It was made of cobbled together stone that vaguely formed the shape of a building with no door that he could see, with stairs that led up to an area caged in by tall metal poles with a blank wall.  Prompto eyed the metal poles, slightly rusted from the sea air, and wondered if there were any gaps large enough for him to squeeze through.  The light was beginning to wane into dusk by this point, and when he finally finished scouting the building out and stood up to head inside, he was surprised to realize the scarecrow had disappeared.  He _had_ told it that it didn’t have to come, but it still hurt a little bit that it had abandoned him in the end.  Prompto felt lonely, but honestly he couldn’t blame the scarecrow for not wanting to join him.  There was a reason it was the way it was, and Prompto wouldn’t be surprised if that reason was related to Ardyn.

Prompto set his shoulders and wandered out from the mists of the Wastes, surprised that they appeared to fade away the closer he got to the odd building, before stopping as he finally reached it.  It was actually taller than he expected from a distance, with various colored stone blocks holding it together, and to his surprise part of it was actually sitting directly on the water.  Prompto slowly made his way up the stairs, feeling nervous and frankly pretty damn scared, but he somehow managed to force himself to continue forward.  Just the thought of Ardyn doing something to Loqi, and Noctis becoming devastated as a result, caused his stomach to squirm.  Prompto had to at least do something.  He couldn’t help but be struck by his similar actions on the steps of the Citadel, and how it was the thought of protecting Night that had driven him forward then.  Prompto blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head as he made his way to the top of the stairs, trying not to think too deeply over why Noctis’s freedom and happiness was such a driving force for him.

Prompto looked along the narrow space lined by stone wall on one side and the metal bars on the other and took a deep breath, letting it out as he made his way forward.  There was a small break in the stone wall that was lined with the metal bars, with a few of them broken off where Prompto could just squeeze through.  There were two columns on large stone blocks on either side of this section, and Prompto could tell by their color that they were made of a different material than the rest of the stone.  He stared up at them for a few moments, trying to etch the details to memory, so if he managed to get out of here he would be able to draw it later.  He then squeezed through the metal bars, ending up in what was essentially a courtyard surrounded by the stone walls on three sides with the metal bars to his back, and open to the slowly darkening sky.  There was just a hint of deep blue left at the tail end of the sunset to show it wasn’t quite night yet.

Prompto’s eyes trailed along the walls, wondering if there was a door hidden somewhere, until he focused on the only wall that had anything different about it.  There was a large metallic emblem in the middle of the wall, only Prompto couldn’t see anything that appeared to be a knob or a handle he could use as a door.  He placed his hand on it, wondering if that would somehow get it to work, and frowned when he merely felt cool, smooth metal.  He tried touching every part of the surface, wondering if there was some sort of hidden mechanism, and when he found nothing he moved on to look more closely at the stone walls instead.  The light was steadily failing as he looked, and Prompto desperately hoped that the daemons didn’t wander too close to this building once night fell since he didn’t have the scarecrow with him anymore.  Just as the sky above faded to black and stars began to appear in the sky, Prompto heard a soft hissing sound, almost like the sound of escaping steam, and turned his head to see that the designs inscribed on the metallic emblem where now glowing white.  Prompto stared at it for a moment, before carefully looking around to ensure nothing else around him was glowing, and stepped forward until he was standing in front of it.  Prompto hesitantly reached out, stalling before finally pressing his hand against it, surprised by how warm the metal felt this time and the magic he could sense pulsing beneath its surface.

The moment his skin pressed against the metal, the floor suddenly gave out under him, and Prompto stumbled and crouched down as it rapidly began to sink to the floor.  Prompto’s heart raced as he watched the sky grow further and further away, until he was brought down to a chamber with a single passage forward.  He stared up at the bit of sky he could still see above him, trembling at the idea of being trapped in an enclosed space like that.  Ever since he was a boy, Prompto hated to be in small, tight spaces, and it took everything in his power to move toward the narrow corridor and not remain huddled in a ball on the platform he had been carried down on.  As Prompto made his way through the corridor, one hand pressing securely to the wall to keep himself steady while the other gripped his walking stick, he was struck by how deathly silent it was inside.  The air itself was at least fresh – Prompto imagined it must get airflow coming from the sea – but he couldn’t make out any sounds indicating there was someone alive in here.  It made him feel even more worried for Loqi which helped him pick up his pace. 

When he finally stepped out from the narrow corridor, he found he was in a large, empty chamber with a lone figure slumped in the middle of it.  Prompto noticed that the figure did indeed have blond hair, although it was darker in color than his own before he was cursed.  Prompto’s eyes darted around the empty chamber, trying to see anything that looked like it may be a trap or a sign anyone else was in there, but he couldn’t see or sense a single thing.  Prompto’s eyes trained back to Loqi, worry coursing through his veins as he realized the man wasn’t moving at all.  Prompto bit his lip, setting down his walking stick before dashing forward, rushing to Loqi’s side and kneeling next to him, noting that his color looked alright even though he couldn’t tell if he was breathing.  He placed his hand on Loqi’s wrist to check for a pulse, then yelped as the man sat up and gripped his own wrist tightly, staring at him with blank, soulless eyes not much different from the boy earlier.  Prompto realized that he had not felt a pulse, and that while Loqi’s skin did feel human, something about the way he had popped up had looked…off.  Prompto tried to yank his wrist back and winced when he realized how strong Loqi’s grip was; he couldn’t pull away.

He felt his heart stop for a moment when the chamber was suddenly filled with the sound of laughter, and a chill ran up his spine when he distinctly realized that it sounded familiar.  Prompto turned his head and watched as Ardyn almost seemed to materialize in the room, stepping forward until he was leaning over Prompto with a sardonic grin on his face.  “It is always nice when your traps carry out exactly as planned,” he said, snapping his fingers. 

Loqi grabbed Prompto from behind, holding both of his arms in a death grip, before Prompto felt something begin to uncomfortably change along his back.  He realized that his arms and legs were suddenly locked to a device, and he turned his head to see that Loqi had transformed into a rack that he was cuffed to, with most of his weight bearing down painfully on his arms.  Prompto looked down to realize his chest was locked to the device as well, and as he began to struggle against his cuffs, Ardyn continued to mockingly laugh.  “It is to no avail, I am afraid,” he taunted, walking around Prompto in a slow, calculating way.  “I must say, I have tried so many different times to lure that cowardly prince to me, but sometimes the direct method works best.”

Ardyn stopped in front of Prompto and began to count, listing them off his fingers as he went.  “First, I spirited away that childhood friend of his.  But while it caused lovely turmoil between Lucis and Niflheim, unfortunately it did not get the royal family to budge,” he commented.  “Then, I saw how infatuated the boy was with you, so I cursed you hoping he would come to the source to change you back.  He is a rather vain creature, and I thought with you looking so old and pitiful, he would come right away.  I didn’t count on his cowardice outweighing his vanity.”

Prompto _wanted_ to argue with that, but he knew how vain Noctis was about his appearance and had seen his cowardice first hand.  Honestly, though, he couldn’t blame Noctis for trying to come up with a different solution to his curse than outright confronting Ardyn.  He would have been pretty pissed if Noctis had endangered himself like that for such a petty reason.  “Thus, I figured he must not care about you as much as I thought and figured, maybe blonds are just his thing?  So, I created Loqi to entice him.  He really was a masterpiece of a golem, if I do say so myself.  I gave him just enough personality and life to lure him in.  Unfortunately, the prince was taking far too long to fall for him to my liking, and then one day as I had Loqi out in order to meet up for another one of their dates, he spotted something I was not quite expecting.  Do you know what it was?” Ardyn asked, leaning forward expectantly into Prompto’s space.

Prompto shied away as much as he could, which wasn’t very far due to being chained to the rack, and he winced as Ardyn placed a finger on his cheek.  “I saw him with you.  You, despite your curse, were still in the picture, and he looked just as in love with you as before.”  Prompto’s eyebrows furrowed at that – surely, he would have noticed if Noctis looked interested in him, right?

Ardyn thankfully pulled his hand away, allowing Prompto to breathe again while wishing he could wash his face, and stepped back.  “Which led me to my simplest, most effective plan.  I figured by now that the sly boy had somehow found out about Loqi’s origins, but I made a wager that _you_ didn’t know.  And while breaking your curse may not draw Noctis here, surely saving your life would.”

Prompto’s eyes widened, and he pulled at his cuffs again.  He remembered Noctis’s words about how he would have traded his own freedom for Prompto’s and knew that Ardyn was probably right.  “Why do you want Noct so bad anyway?” he asked.  “I mean, yeah, his dad kicked you out of Insomnia.  But you were doing some pretty dark stuff,” he pointed out.  “Why not just leave and do your icky magic elsewhere?”

Ardyn looked a little surprised that Prompto was talking back, but he actually stopped to consider his words.  “Noctis’s father is a hypocrite,” he explained.  “His family always has been throughout the years.  Noctis is honestly not quite so bad – he is at least honest in his vanity and cowardice, I supposed,” Ardyn mused.  “However, while his father banished me from Insomnia due to making a pact with a daemon for more power, his son did the same and is able to move about freely as he wishes.”  Prompto couldn’t help but think that there was a big difference in Ardyn using the daemon’s power for dark magic and Noctis using his to help people, but had a feeling Ardyn wouldn’t want to hear that.

“The only reason I want his son is because I know how much the king adores the boy,” Ardyn added.  “Nothing would hurt him more than knowing that his son died by my hands.”  Ardyn grinned, and Prompto recoiled as he saw black ichor suddenly appear on his face, dripping from his eyes and mouth.  His skin also became pale while his eyes turned black with yellow irises, and Prompto realized that this must be what it looked like when someone practices in dark magic for too long.  While he knew Gladio was a good guy, he couldn’t help but feel a little more worried about their pact’s long term effect on Noctis.

“And what if Noct doesn’t come?” Prompto asked, trying his best to instill doubt in Ardyn’s heart.  He hoped doing so may buy him some time to figure out how to escape.  He really didn’t want Noctis coming here, especially knowing Ardyn’s plans.  “I mean, you said it yourself.  He’s a coward, right?  And you may think he’s in…love with me, but…”

Ardyn’s laugher cut Prompto off.  “My dear boy, the prince is on his way here as we speak,” he replied.  “Do not worry about that.”  Prompto bit his lip as the burgundy haired man continued, his face morphing back to normal.  “I do have to ask, how did you like my little creation that brought you the letter?  I must admit I have a touch for the dramatic, and I thought you would find him quite entertaining.”

Prompto realized he must be talking about the boy golem, and he shrugged his shoulders.  “It took me awhile to figure out who it was supposed to be,” he admitted.  “You may have got the coloring right, but he looked nothing like I did as a kid.”

Ardyn looked a little disappointed by that, and Prompto couldn’t help but feel like it was a small victory.  “I was so sure he would look right,” Ardyn muttered under his breath.  “The color, the freckles…  I extrapolated based on your current figure what size you probably were as a boy.”

Prompto couldn’t help but laugh at that.  “Well, you were completely wrong there,” he said, but didn’t give anymore details.  There was no way Ardyn could have known that he was more overweight as a child.  Cor hadn’t felt it in him to curb Prompto’s eating since he had found him as a starving boy, until he used to come home crying about bullies.  Then, through teaching Prompto how to defend himself, Cor had also worked on getting him on a healthier diet, realizing that he shouldn’t spoil the boy so much.  By the time Prompto was learning how to take over the shop, he had grown into the lean, muscular body he had today.

Ardyn looked a bit put out, but shrugged his shoulders.  “I suppose you can’t win them all,” he replied flippantly.  “You will have to excuse me, however.  I would like to be ready for when I face our dear boy Noct.”  Prompto’s face blanched, both at his words and his use of Noctis’s nickname, before Ardyn disappeared again, leaving him in the dark chamber all alone.  Prompto tried his best to pull at the cuffs holding in him place, cursing his own stupidity for falling for Ardyn’s trap.  He began to sincerely wish for Noctis to take the coward’s route this time, even though he realized his wish was probably in vain. 

‘Please Noct, just stay at the castle,’ he prayed, slumping forward.  He couldn’t stand it if Noctis got hurt – or worse – because of him.


	18. Where His Heart Lays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto finally figures out the key to the pact between Gladio and Noctis, but is it too late?

Prompto had no idea how long he had been waiting before he heard the distant sound of the platform moving at the entrance.  His arms by that point were numb from the angle they were forcibly held down at, and he had caused bruising from his struggles to try to break out of his restraints.  He lifted his head, heart racing, as he heard the platform land and a pair of familiar bickering voices along with the tapping sound Prompto associated with the Scarecrow.  He suddenly realized that when the Scarecrow left it must have been to find Noctis, and he felt bad for his earlier disappointed thoughts.  Moments later Noctis came barging into the room, barely avoiding Prompto’s walking stick which was laying near the entrance to the chamber, hair jet black and un-styled for a change.  Prompto realized this was probably his natural hair color and thought it actually looked really good on him; he wondered briefly why Noctis always felt the need to change it.  As the prince rushed to Prompto’s side, the cursed man suddenly remembered Noctis’s comment about the day a man saw his hair a mess they’d know he was in love, and he started to blush until he remembered the situation he was in.

“Noct, wait,” he said, struggling again with his bonds.  “It’s a trap!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Noctis asked, reaching his side anyway with the Scarecrow right behind him.  Prompto realized that he was holding Gladio in his hand, the fire daemon glaring up at him from where he rested in Noctis’s palm.

“I told you to wait,” the daemon said with a huff, before glancing at Prompto’s bonds.  “This isn’t good – he’s got a pretty crafty spell infused in that contraption…”

“Dammit,” Noctis cursed under his breath.  “Why did you rush off without me, you stupid, foolish man?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Prompto.  “Do you know how worried I was when I got home and Talcott was in tears and Gladio was all in a rage?”

“What was I supposed to do?  I thought you were in love with Loqi, and Ardyn had him, and I just couldn’t sit around and wait for you to get back home.  I had to do something!” Prompto replied in frustration. 

Noctis let out a deep sigh before tugging at his hair with his free hand, leaving it sticking out in an endearing way.  “I should have told you about Loqi,” he grumbled.  “You just looked so cute getting jealous anytime he came up, I couldn’t help myself.  I guess I really do have an ego problem…”

“Loqi, he’s…” Prompto started, not knowing how to tell Noctis the truth, and the dark haired man shook his head.

“I know, he’s a golem.  In fact, if I’m not mistaken, he’s what you’re tied to right now, isn’t he?” he asked, eyes passing along the rack Prompto was hanging from.  Prompto nodded his head, and Noctis sucked in a long breath.  “I knew all along.  I was playing along, hoping I could use him to gather information on his master.  I was trying to find some way to break that curse he put on you.  It’s my fault for not telling you.” Noctis gave Prompto a sorry look, while in his hand Gladio mumbled something along the lines of ‘I told you so.’  Noctis then reached forward and carefully moved a piece of Prompto’s hair out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ear.  Prompto was surprised by the gentle touch and stared up at him with wide eyes.  “I’m going to figure out how to get you out of here,” Noctis promised, and Prompto shook his head.

“Noct, you shouldn’t have come,” he said, eyes desperately warning him to leave, but it was too late.  Laughter yet again began to fill the chamber, and Ardyn materialized while giving a slow clap.

“What a lovely, if overly-sentimental reunion,” he commented.  “And look who you brought along for me as well,” he added, eyeing Gladio who shied back slightly.  “You even brought your childhood friend along for the show.  How quaint.”

Prompto’s eyes trailed back to the Scarecrow, and he was surprised by the fact it didn’t seem to shy away from the wizard and instead appeared to be standing between both of them protectively.  He realized with a start that it must be the missing princess of Tenebrae.  “I am so glad that you could finally make it to my humble abode.  I have only been trying to invite you for the past several months,” Ardyn added.  “What do you think?” he asked, spreading his arms to the surrounding empty chamber.

“I think you should let Prompto go and unleash the spell on him and Luna,” Noctis replied, standing with his back straight, while Gladio appeared to blaze brighter in his hand.

“Or what?  What will the cowardly little prince do to everyone’s favorite Wizard of the Waste?” Ardyn asked, his voice suddenly lowering to a dangerous timbre.  His expression had also morphed into something quite nasty, and Prompto could feel the daemonic magic surging within his body.  It made his hair stand up and he could feel pressure pressing against him from his power. 

“I’ll just have to beat you,” Noctis replied straightforwardly, hand gripping Gladio as he unleashed his own hold over his magic.  Prompto stared at Noctis in shock, surprised by how formidable his magic felt.  He had never imagined the lazy wizard was hiding this much power.  Noctis then muttered an incantation under his breath and while yelling at the Scarecrow to stay back he threw out his hand, causing an odd distortion to occur in front of him, almost as if his hand was sucking in everything in front of them.  Prompto watched in fascination as small rocks and stones began to get dragged toward Noctis’s palm and sucked in, along with the burgundy haired wizard who grimaced and had to brace himself as he too began to drag forward.  Ardyn waved his hand in front of him while muttering his own spell, causing a fireball to come flying at Noctis, which the dark haired wizard cursed under his breath over as he broke off his spell in order to hastily deflect it, ensuring it didn’t hit Prompto or the Scarecrow.  The Scarecrow, meanwhile, was hopping around Prompto, apparently looking for anyway she could break him from his bonds.  Prompto gave her an encouraging smile before trailing his eyes back to the fight between Ardyn and Noctis.

It was pretty amazing, seeing how quickly they could each pull out spells and counter each other’s attacks.  Ardyn attempted to ensnare Noctis in tangled roots, who had just barely leapt out of the way before using magic to shoot toward Ardyn, holding a glowing sword formed from where he was gripping Gladio in his hand.  Ardyn had blocked the attack with his own hastily formed magic sword, and they had exchanged blows for several minutes before switching to their new magic attacks.  It was a furious, fast paced battle and Prompto could hardly keep up with following them.  And to Prompto’s surprise, so far Noctis seemed to have the upper hand.  The young man’s attacks and spells were just a hair faster and more powerful than the other wizard’s, and Prompto wondered if it was due to wanting to protect him and Lady Lunafreya.  He bit his lip, clenching his fist as he struggled anew with his bonds, wondering if he could just break free he could somehow _help_ , when there was a sudden turn in battle.

Ardyn let out a dangerous grin and flicked his wrist, causing a flash of light to come barreling toward where Prompto and the Scarecrow where currently located.  Prompto’s eyes widened before he squeezed them shut, bracing for whatever attack was about to come, until the light suddenly went out with a large boom right in front of him, and he heard a loud grunt.  Prompto’s eyes flew open and he looked up in horror to see Noctis crumpled on the ground in front of him, having leapt in front of them to deflect the attack, while Ardyn gleefully smirked as he stood over his body, gripping Gladio’s dim form in his hand.  Prompto’s eyes widened as he began to realize something.  With Gladio’s bright light out of the way, he could finally tell that there was something embedded within the flames that he had never noticed before.  It was steadily beating in Ardyn’s hand as the man laughed gleefully, squeezing it and causing Noctis to cry out before passing out from the pain.  For what Ardyn was holding in his hand was Noctis’s heart.  Prompto felt his own heart stop as he stared down at Noctis’s slumped form before looking up to see Ardyn hold his heart up toward his mouth, obviously about to ingest it so he could absorb Noctis’s magic and take in Gladio’s daemonic abilities as well.

“No!” Prompto shouted, causing Ardyn to raise an eyebrow at him as he once again struggled with his bonds.

“And what do you expect to do, hm?” Ardyn asked with a roll of his eyes.  “I already told you that you had lowly magic…”  Before he could say anything else, a bright light surged from within Prompto, causing the transformed golem to suddenly shatter like glass around him, allowing him to break free.  Ardyn’s eyes widened in surprise as Prompto leapt at him, knocking him to the floor as he grabbed for Noctis’s heart, using the element of surprise to wrest it from his grip.  He then crouched in front of Noctis, holding his weakly beating heart to his chest and doing his best to ignore how hot Gladio’s weakly flickering flame was in his hand.

Ardyn growled at him and sent another fireball his way, Prompto bracing himself for impact before watching in horror as the Scarecrow leapt in front of it and took the brunt of the attack, clattering down to the ground as the embers made their way up her tattered dress and began eating at the sylleblossoms.  “No, Lady Luna!” Prompto gasped, then was surprised to hear Gladio speak up in his hand.

“Use your magic,” he coughed, causing Prompto to glance down at him.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“What counters fire?” Gladio asked, and Prompto’s free hand formed a fist.

“What if I accidentally drench you too?” he asked worriedly, and Gladio glanced back at where Noctis was crumpled on the ground.

“I think we’ll be ok.  As long as it’s you,” he replied.  “I can boost your power you know.  If you give me something valuable.  Like your eyes.”

“Hmmm, how about some of my hair?” Prompto asked, before reaching in his pocket for a pocketknife he kept on him.

“That can work,” Gladio agreed, and Prompto used the knife to cut down some from his bangs, feeding it to Gladio who began to grow impossibly hot in his hand.  “Now even if you douse this whole room with water, I think I’ll be ok,” Gladio said, and Prompto nodded before closing his eyes.  He heard Ardyn muttering an incantation in front of him but ignored it, instead focusing on that same inner part of his being he would tap into when creating his hats or making his drawings.  He began to imagine rain, the feeling of it trailing down his body, soaking him when he was caught outside during an afternoon shower.  The sound of it pattering on the roof as he sat in his room working on new designs for his hats or on his drawings.  Or the sound as it poured in the Wastes, stirring up the mists as he hurriedly pulled in the laundry or worked on dinner or other chores.  Once he gathered all of those feelings together, Prompto unleashed them from his heart, eyes opening in triumph as rain suddenly began falling in the chamber around them.

Ardyn, who had been mid spell, stared in horror as the rain mixed with magic began hitting his clothes and skin, leaving hissing sounds and small puffs of steam in their wake until the rain began to fall harder, causing Ardyn to cry out in pain as steam enveloped the man, the magical droplets combating the daemonic power coursing through him.  Prompto did his best to protect Gladio from the rain, shielding him with his body as he watched in relief as the rainwater stopped the fire from forming on the Scarecrow, keeping the now wilting flowers intact and reversing some of the damage.  He turned back around to face Noctis, watching his shallow breathing with a worried expression on his face before he glanced down at Gladio’s flickering form in his hands.  “I can’t believe this whole time all those puns about Noctis not having a heart were hints,” he said, and Gladio grinned wryly at him.

“Took you long enough,” he quipped.

“If I return Noctis’s heart to him, what will happen to both of you?” Prompto asked.

“You’ll break the pact.  Like I said before, if it’s you, I think we’ll be ok.”  Behind them, Ardyn’s wailing was growing even more desperate, and Prompto did his best to steel himself against the awful sound.  The man was too far gone for there to be anything to save from the purifying rain. 

“Alright, I’m going to give it a try,” Prompto said, carefully holding Gladio with both hands before reaching down and pressing Noctis’s beating heart against his chest.  The heart and daemon sank into Noctis’s chest, and moments later Prompto began to feel the prince’s heartbeat grow steadier in his chest where it belonged.  Gladio then sprouted between his fingers, flying up into the air as a brilliant spark, more than likely his original form before his pact with the young wizard prince.

“You did it!” he said happily, before huddling closer to Prompto for protection from his rain.  It was finally beginning to slow down, and Prompto realized with a start he couldn’t hear anything coming from Ardyn anymore.  He glanced behind him and realized that where the man had been standing was now a sizzling pile of clothes.  He bit his lip before carefully holding Gladio to his chest, his other hand still feeling Noctis’s heartbeat as his eyes swept across the chamber.  He was trying to figure out how he would get Noctis, the Scarecrow, and Gladio out of there when he was surprised to feel a hand suddenly clasp over his own.

“Man, I feel like shit,” Noctis groaned, before looking down at Prompto’s hand.  He frowned at seeing the burn before looking up at him, eyes suddenly growing soft as he reached forward and ran his hand through Prompto’s hastily cut hair.  “Whoever cut your hair did a shoddy job,” he said.  “But it looks like you finally broke the curse.”

Prompto tilted his head in confusion, before he looked down at his hand and realized that it no longer looked wrinkly and veiny as it had before.  His eyes widened and he reached up to touch his face, realizing that it was yet again smooth and firm.  “And you finally showed me your real hair color,” Prompto replied back. 

Noctis blushed, pulling his hand away while crossing his arms defensively.  “Go ahead and laugh,” he replied, and Prompto shook his head.

“I like it better this color.  It suits you,” he smiled.  Noctis stared at him in surprise, before Prompto helped him up.  Noctis clutched his chest while looking at Gladio thoughtfully.  “He broke the pact, huh?” he asked.  “You finally got your wish, you sneaky little daemon.”

Gladio flickered with a shrug before spinning around Prompto gratefully.  “I think it’s best for the both of us,” he replied.  “But…”  He suddenly changed back to the form Prompt and Noctis were both used to before lowering himself back into Noctis’s hand.  “I wouldn’t mind staying with you.  That is until I figure out what I’m going to do with all of this freedom.”  Noctis grinned at him before glancing over at what remained of Ardyn and where the Scarecrow lay sprawled on the ground.  He quickly walked over before kneeling next to her, eyes worried as they looked over her still form.  He drew a symbol in the water pooling around her and closed his eyes before hovering his hand over the symbol, quietly saying an incantation before raising his hand up.  The water, which was still lightly glowing from Prompto’s magic, began to rise up with his hand, before it made its way over to the Scarecrow’s form, working its way around her body until it completely covered her with a flash of white light.  Once the light faded away, it left the form of a beautiful young woman in its place, dressed in the tattered, burned dress that had been on the Scarecrow.  She had platinum blonde hair pulled up in an elegant style, and both young men looked relieved when her eyes suddenly fluttered open and she sat up with a gasp.

“You broke the curse,” she said, smiling at both of them warmly, gratefully accepting Prompto’s hand as he helped her up.  “I knew I liked you the moment you pulled me up from the Wastes,” she said, tilting her head playfully at Prompto before she placed a kiss on his cheek.  The blond man blushed while the prince glared at her with a pout.

“Luna,” he warned, and she beamed at him. 

“You always have had good taste,” she teased.  “I’m afraid I must be off, however.  I must return to Tenebrae and stop this brewing war.  I am sure now that you have both broken this curse, Umbra and Pryna will be here soon.”  She then let out a wave and gracefully made her way out of the chamber, Prompto staring at her in astonishment as she left, while Noctis still looked annoyed.

Prompto rolled his eyes.  “It’s not so fun feeling jealous, now is it?” he asked, and when Noctis turned to give him a sheepish look, he gripped him by the collar before pulling him in for a kiss.  The prince eagerly kissed him back, clutching Gladio against his chest with one hand while the other made its way to cup Prompto’s face.  Prompto leaned in against him, carefully not pressing too close in order to avoid contact with Gladio, while circling both hands around the back of Noctis’s neck.  Noctis felt warm and comforting, like home, in spite of the fact they were both soaking wet and how drafty it was in the empty chamber.  Noctis seemed to notice the fact Prompto was shivering in the chill air which finally caused him to step back, shaking his head as he looked at him.

“We really need to work on your magic,” he teased between panting breaths, as he closed his eyes and caused a pulse of magic to run through Prompto, warming him up.  “Let’s get you back to the castle so we can get you into more fitting clothes.  I don’t want to hear you complaining that they look too young anymore.”

Prompto shook his head.  “Only as long as you leave your hair as is,” he said, reaching up and teasing his hand through Noctis’s dark locks.

The wizard glanced at him before shyly looking away.  “Only because you seem to like it,” he said, before using his free hand to grip Prompto’s as they made their way out of the chamber.  Prompto smiled at him, and they made their way out of the former Wizard of the Waste’s structure, stepping outside into the morning light and ready to make their way back to the castle, their home.


	19. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis and Prompto return home after their ordeal.

When Noctis and Prompto stepped outside, they found that the world had significantly changed.  The sun was beginning to rise, reminding them both that they had been awake throughout the night and were both exhausted from both that and expending so much magic.  The Wastes, which had always been dark, misty, and dangerous, still had a little remaining fog, but it wasn’t as thick and appeared more natural now.  More than likely in the afternoon sun it would burn away completely, revealing a beautiful, twisted landscape that neither young man had ever seen clearly before.  There were also obviously no daemons left anymore which meant they would be safe to travel.  They heard a distant shout and looked up at the hill that overlooked the building they had stepped out of, and saw Lady Lunafreya waving at them with two dogs at her side – one black with a white tummy and the other completely white.  “That’s Umbra and Pryna,” Noctis pointed out, and moments later the three of them seemed to disappear completely.  Prompto gasped in surprise, and Noctis chuckled.  “Luna’s the Oracle and those dogs are messengers for the Astrals,” he explained.  “They’ve got magic and probably took her back to Tenebrae.  Hopefully now we can avoid a war.”

“I sure hope so,” Prompto agreed, before shyly offering Noctis his hand.  The prince grinned before accepting it gratefully, and they began to make their long trek back to Night’s Castle.  Fortunately, with a clearer path the journey was much easier, and it didn’t take them as long to return as it had originally to get there.

When they arrived, they were surprised to see Aranea in the room angrily pacing about.  Talcott was slumped on the table, although his head shot up the moment he heard the door open.  “You guys are ok!” he shouted, jumping up, and Aranea turned to look at them.

“What the hell were you thinking, running off on your own…” she started, before trailing off.  Her eyes roamed over Prompto and before widening in astonishment.  “You’re young again,” she said, voice relieved, and Prompto nodded, tearing up slightly as he pulled away from Noctis to allow Aranea to pull him into a hug.  “We were so worried about you,” she said, as Noctis slipped past them to set Gladio back on the fireplace.  The fire daemon appeared happy to be back at his normal spot and began to let out a comforting crackling noise as he began to hungrily eat at the wood.  Noctis, meanwhile, was nearly knocked over by Talcott who threw his arms around him.

“Thank you for saving Prompto,” Talcott said, sniffing against Noctis’s torso, and the wizard ruffled his hair fondly.

“Honestly, Prompto saved me,” he grinned, before winking at Prompto who could see him over Aranea’s shoulder.  Prompto blushed before burying his head against his sister’s shoulder in embarrassment.

Aranea then pulled away before turning to give Noctis a steady glare.  “I saw you two walk hand in hand in here and know what’s going on.  I could see it coming a mile away.  If you ever break my little brother’s heart…”

“I won’t,” Noctis quickly replied.  He had a serious expression on his face.  “I promise.”

Aranea heaved a deep sigh before shaking her head.  “Out of all the men you could have picked,” she frowned.

“I dunno, I think I made a good choice,” Prompto smiled at her, and Aranea couldn’t help but give a small smile in return.

“Maybe.  He does seem to be finally growing up,” she admitted.  She then waved at the table.  “I was actually here to bring you those paints that you had ordered from Monica,” she told Noctis.  “Only when I got here the kid was in tears and neither of you were around.”

“I’m sorry,” Prompto replied, and Aranea shook her head.

“You can’t help it.   You have a good heart,” she said fondly.  “Just don’t do anything so foolhardy again.  I can only imagine what Cor would have done if it had been him who showed up instead.”

Prompto winced, before looking down.  “Speaking of which, make sure you visit him and Cindy soon, ok?” she added.  “They’ll want to see that you’re ok.  And happy.”

Prompto nodded, and Aranea ruffled his hair, causing him to give her an exasperated look while Gladio and Noctis both laughed.  Talcott, meanwhile, looked sympathetic.  “I’m heading into the city to see Specs.  Got any messages you want to pass onto him?” she asked, looking over at Noctis.

“Let him know we don’t have to worry about the Wizard of the Waste anymore,” he said, and Aranea closed her eyes, obviously having to hold back her temper again as she realized just how much danger the two had been in, before letting out a breath.

“Let him know that if he ever hurts you, he’ll have to deal with _me_!” Prompto said, puffing out his chest slightly, before adding, “But he seems like a good guy so I doubt he’d do anything like that.”

Aranea laughed.  “You know I have good taste,” she quipped, before waving and heading out the door.

Prompto then curiously looked over at the paints, while Noctis blushed slightly.  “It’s the gift I promised you,” he explained.  “They’re specially made to be easily infused with magic.  I figured instead of working on hats…maybe you can start doing more of your art?” 

Prompto picked up one of the small jars and eyed it thoughtfully.  “I’d like that,” he said, turning to beam at Noctis.  “I was actually running low on supplies, so this is perfect!”

Noctis blushed shyly, before letting out a wide yawn.  “There’s a lot I want to do now that we’re back home but…I think some sleep is in order first.”

“You both look exhausted,” Talcott agreed.  “Gladio and I can watch the castle while you guys get some rest!”

“Hey!” Gladio grumbled.  “I’m tired too!”

The others laughed, before Noctis and Prompto told the other two goodnight, and Noctis tugged on Prompto’s hand, bringing him up to his bedroom which Prompto had never seen before.  Noctis had told him not to clean it so Prompto never had any reason to go inside.  It was pretty cluttered like the rest of the castle had been and full of different magical trinkets that Noctis had used to keep the castle hidden.  The bed was large and looked very comfortable though, and after kicking off their shoes Noctis pulled Prompto under the covers with him and pulled him against his chest.  They both relaxed, Prompto’s eyes fluttering closed as he took in Noctis’s gentle warmth and the comforting, steady beat of his heart at his back. 

“Prompto,” Noctis said softly after a few moments, surprising the blond who had figured he had already fallen asleep.

“Hm?” he asked, eyes feeling heavy as he struggled to stay awake.

“Never scare me like that again,” Noctis said, arms tightening slightly as he pulled Prompto more securely against him before burying his head in his hair.

Prompto’s arms found their way around Noctis’s.  “I won’t,” he promised, and Noctis heaved a sigh of relief. 

“I want you to be happy here,” he added.  “Anything you want or need, I’ll make it happen.”

Prompto laughed.  “I’m already happy.  I’ve got you, and Talcott, and Gladio.  I’ve seen and experienced so much.”

“I want you to be even happier,” Noctis insisted, and Prompto let out a snort. 

“Well, I want you to be happier too,” he replied.  “So, anything I can do for you, just let me know.”

“Hmmmm…that’s a dangerous proposition,” Noctis lightly joked, and Prompto rolled his eyes.

“I can tell you what would make me happy right now,” he said, voice taking on a slightly sing-song lilt.

“What’s that?” Noctis asked.

“Sleep,” Prompto replied, and the prince chuckled.

“Alright.  But when we get up, I have some surprises in store for you,” he promised.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Prompto said sleepily, before finally drifting off again.  Noctis pressed his lips against the side of Prompto’s head before adjusting slightly so they nestled against each other more comfortably.  He then also drifted off to sleep, feeling more relaxed and comforted than he had in a long time.


	20. The Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis reveals his final surprise to Prompto.

Everyone is surprised the next morning when Noctis is the first to get up, preparing a simple breakfast consisting of coffee, bacon, and eggs that woke Prompto and Talcott up before rushing about the room, grabbing different items for spells and muttering to himself instead of eating his own food.  Eventually Prompto had to grab him and force him to sit down and eat before his food got cold, causing the wizard to give him a sheepish look.  “What has got you so antsy this morning?” Prompto asked, as he poured Noctis a cup of coffee.

“I wanted to get everything ready for your surprise,” Noctis admitted.

Prompto’s face softened at his words, before he pointed out, “No surprise is worth skipping breakfast,” while picking up his and Talcott’s plates which were already picked clean.

“You are though,” Noctis replied cheekily, causing Prompto to blush and unable to come up with a response.  As he got started on dishes, Noctis quickly finished his own meal before getting back to work.  First, he took a jar of special paint that was meant specifically to be used on the door dial, and began to repaint the black dial while muttering an incantation under his breath.  Prompto who had just finished the dishes looked on with interest while Talcott rushed toward the window to look out. 

“Where are you resetting us?” he asked excitedly, and Noctis grinned.

“How about I show you,” he said, turning the dial now had a vibrant violet color.  Suddenly, the windows were no longer facing the Wastes and instead were looking out at a location that was very familiar to Prompto.  In fact, he had been staring out at the same view for most of his life until his curse.

“What on Eos?” he gasped, before heading down the stairs and opening the door, stepping out onto the streets of Hammerhead as if in a dream.  Sure enough, this was the street of his childhood home, and a few people who were walking by who recognized him gave a friendly wave while a few others looked at him curiously.  Prompto knew there must have been rumors going around after he had disappeared.  He turned his head and looked to see the sign that used to read Leonis Hat Shop had been changed recently and was now changed to Argentum’s Art Studio.  Other than that, the façade looked exactly the same.  Prompto felt his heart skip a beat at the title before turning to look at Noctis who was leaning in the doorway with a fond smile on his face.

“What is this?” Prompto asked simply, feeling a bit overwhelmed, and Noctis shrugged.

“I bought your father’s hat shop from him so I could use the building to give you back your home,” he replied.  “I thought you would be happier selling your art though – I hope you don’t mind the change in occupation.”

“Noct,” Prompto said, his voice heavy with emotion.

“I also figured it would be easier for you to see your sister and your father if you were in town again.  I’ll even consider adding a guest bedroom for if he decides to visit,” he added, obviously proud over the effect his surprise was having on Prompto.  “I’m also having Gladio move the castle out of the Wastes and to this lake near Insomnia.  It has great fishing and lots of wildflowers – I figure that may inspire you for your art.”

Prompto silently stared at Noctis for a moment, before he walked over and threw his arms around his neck.  “Thank you,” he said softly, and Noctis gladly held him back.

“I think it’s about time you introduced me to your other sister,” Noctis said playfully, and Prompto laughed.

“You have met everyone else,” he said thoughtfully.  “I suppose next you’ll have to introduce me to your father?”

Noctis wrinkled his nose at the idea of going back to Insomnia, but Prompto had noticed that he hadn’t changed that dial.  He supposed it could be just as much for his and Talcott’s benefit as for Noctis’s own, but he figured Noctis truly didn’t want to completely cut ties with the capital either.  “I suppose.  I think my dad will love you,” he admitted.

Prompto looked happy at the idea, and reached forward to grab Noctis’s hand before tugging him forward.  “Ready to meet Cindy?” he asked, and Noctis nodded, suddenly looking a little shy as Prompto led him down the street, pointing out all the different places along the way and sharing bits of his childhood growing up there.  Noctis listened attentively, enjoying hearing about the little adventures Prompto had gone on and feeling indignation as he heard about some of the bully encounters he had faced as well.  Overall, he appreciated hearing this other side of Prompto, and looked forward to learning more about his life in Hammerhead.  Eventually, they made it to Cid’s garage, and Prompto’s face lit up as he spotted his sister working diligently on one of the cars sitting out front.  She had probably already finished the repair work and was just cleaning it up, since both Cid and Cindy took pride in the cars they worked on and always wanted to return them in excellent condition to their owners.

“Long time no see,” Prompto caused, causing Cindy’s head to shoot up and her eyes to widen.

“Well lookit you, lookin’ all young and handsome again,” she said, holding out her arms so Prompto could receive a hug.  He pulled away from Noctis and gladly accepted it, realizing how much he had missed his sister.  She had been the most reassuring part of his life for so long and it finally hit him that he had never gone so long without seeing her before.

“I missed you,” he said softly, and her hug tightened in response.

“I missed you too, my little Chocobo,” she said, ruffling his hair and causing Prompto to sigh in annoyance.

“Chocobo, huh?” Noctis asked, sounding highly amused at the concept, while Prompto shot him a dirty glare.

“Don’t you dare,” he started to say, but Cindy stepped between them.

“You’re the same feller that whisked Prompto off his feet before, ain’t you?” she asked, tilting her head and eyeing him warily.  “Aranea was warnin’ me about you too,” she added.  Noctis suddenly looked nervous before glancing over at Prompto for help.  He merely shrugged and stood back, allowing his sister to do her thing.

“I am,” Noctis replied hesitantly. 

“And his little curse was because of you?  And you’re the one he was with all this time?” she pressed, and Noctis could only nod in reply.

Cindy let out a huff.  “Why are you still with this guy?” she asked Prompto.  “Sure he’s cute n’all but I thought you had more common sense.”

“I love him,” Prompto said simply, and Noctis shot him a smile while Cindy let out a sigh.

“Aranea said that too,” she muttered.  She turned back to Noctis.  “And you?  How do you feel?”

Noctis stepped past Cindy so he could stand in front of Prompto before taking his hand.  “I love him too,” he said simply, looking Prompto in the eyes and trying not to melt at how happy he looked.

Cindy watched both of them for several moments before saying, “I guess y’all have my blessin’.  Just know I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” 

Noctis smiled at her.  “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he said.  “And I’m glad Prompto has such a good family looking out for him.”

“Dad’ll probably come by to see you once he realizes you’re back in town,” Cindy warned.  “I heard the sign out front was changed recently.”  She smiled at Prompto.  “I’m glad you’re finally followin’ your heart.”

“Thanks, sis,” Prompto sincerely replied.  “I should probably let you get back to work.”

“I’ll swing by to check up on you for dinner though,” she said, winking and waving them off.  Afterward, they headed back to the castle so Noctis could show Prompto where Gladio had moved them to.  Once he turned the dial that used to lead to the Wastes, Prompto was excited to see the beautiful clear lake surrounded by wildflowers that popped into view.

“This is gorgeous,” he breathed, as Talcott rushed outside with Gladio at his heels in his fire daemon spark form.  Gladio spun circles around Talcott who clapped and laughed happily while Noctis and Prompto stepped out the door after them.  There was a little cottage by the lake and Prompto looked over at it curiously.

“My dad had that built for us so he could occasionally take me out here fishing,” Noctis explained.  “I figured you could use it for your art studio.  Also, the clothes will probably dry a lot faster here without all that mist from the Wastes.”

Prompto stared out the gorgeous scenery in amazement, watching how the colors from the wildflowers reflected on the clear lake.  “I think I want to draw this,” he said, causing Noctis to laugh.

“I’ll go grab your sketchbook,” he said, stepping back inside and grabbing it, his pencil set, and a chair so Prompto could get to work.  While Prompto began sketching, Noctis summoned a fishing pole and headed to the lake, waving Talcott over so he could teach him how to fish.  Gladio rested himself in the little gas powered lantern at the door so he could refuel while continuing to enjoy the scenery.  Their little family enjoyed a peaceful afternoon together and looked forward to many more to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone so much for reading this story, especially BlackMorc who faithfully commented on each chapter and encouraged me to keep writing. I really appreciate it and hope that you especially enjoy this last chapter ^^


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